l 


SBFr-S     -  l-~%>  •   P"1 


ARCHIBALD  CH 
LIBRARY 
NORTHWESTERN 
MEDICAL 


J 
fe, 


.  .1 


1  ti    {  >  ff( 


',«?  / 

x^  "     L/  A  .//  L 


/  . 


THE 

ILLUSTRATED 


AMERICAN    BIOGRAPHY; 


C  O  N  T  A  I  N  I  N  G 


CORRECT  PORTRAITS   AND  BRIEF   NOTICES 


O  P 

THE  PRINCIPAL  ACTORS  IN  AMERICAN  HISTORY; 

E  M  B  R  A  C  I  X  G 

DISTINGUISHED   WOMEN,    NAVAL   AND   MILITARY  HEROES,    STATESMEN,    CIVILIANS, 

JURISTS,    DIVINES,   AUTHORS,   AND   ARTISTS;    TOGETHER    WITH 

CELEBRATED    INDIAN    CHIEFS. 

FROM    CHRISTOPHER    COLUMBUS    DOWN    TO    THE    PRESENT    TIME. 

COMPLETE     IN     SIX     VOLUMES. 
EACH  VOLUME  WILL  CONTAIN  ONE  HUNDRED  PORTRAITS, 

AND    BE    DIVIDED    INTO    THREE    PARTS. 

PART.  I.  -  EMBRACING    THE    PERIOD  FROM    THE  DISCOVERY,  BY  COLUMBUS,   TO   THE   DECLARATION   OF 

INDEPENDENCE. 
PART  II. -EMBRACING  THE  PERIOD  FROM  THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE  TO  THE  WAR  OF  1812, 

WITH  ENGLAND. 
PART  III.  —  EMBRACING  THE  PERIOD  SUBSEQUENT  TO  THE  WAR  OF  1812. 

ONE   VOLUME   TO   BE   ISSUED   ANNUALLY. 

^/>>--    ;u  £l 
BY     A.     Dt    JONES. 


VOLUME  I. 


NEW    YORK: 

J.     MILTON    EMERSON    AND     COMPANY 

MDCCCLIII. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1852, 

BY  A.  D.  JONES, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


0.  A.  ALVORD,  PRINTER. 

29  OOLD-STRKET,  N    Y 


L(   o  o     I  4  V' 

Bancroft  Library 


TO    THE    PUBLIC. 


AT  0  history  is  so  valuable  as  genuine  Biography,  for  it  not  only  gives  us  the  deeds  which  go  to 
•*-  ^  make  up  history,  but  also,  and  what  is  of  equal  value  in  its  analysis,  the  motives  and  circum- 
stances of  these  acts.  Accordingly,  no  department  of  literature  is  more  abundantly  or  imperfectly 
supplied  than  this.  On  one  hand,  the  sketches  of  persons  have  been  so  brief  as  to  awaken  little  or 
no  interest  ;  on  the  other,  so  tedious  as  to  exhaust  the  patience  of  the  reader.  Then,  again,  many 
biographies  have  embraced  numerous  names  which  are  of  no  particular  interest,  or  taken  only  a  few 
of  the  most  prominent  ones,  greatly  to  the  injury  of  many  who  have  deserved  well  of  their  coun- 
try, and  \\  aose  lives  are  necessary  to  a  perfect  history  of  their  times. 

We  have  thought  that  a  just  medium  between  these  extremes  was  necessary  to  a  comprehensive 
and  discriminating  historical  American  Biography,  and  have  aimed  in  this  volume  —  and  shall 
aim,  in  the  succeeding  ones  —  to  do  justice  to  the  memory  of  those  persons  whose  lives  are 
presented,  without  drawing  too  largely  on  the  patience  of  the  reader;  while  the  fact,  that  every 
sketch  is  illustrated  with  a  fine  portrait,  will  render  the  work  invaluable  as  a  faithful  daguerreo- 
type of  the  persons,  as  well  as  the  lives  of  the  great  actors  in  American  history. 

No  pains  or  expense  has  been  spared  to  present  the  work  to  the  public  in  a  manner  which  shall 
bear  their  criticism,  and  which,  we  hope,  will  not  fail  to  secure  their  approval  ;  while  the  wide 
iijld  of  labor  we  have  laid  out  for  ourselves  will,  we  trust,  be  a  sufficient  apology  for  any  imper- 


4  t  ' A.  .T'O  :  1  irr  & :  L^fJ  &  tL  1X1C  . 

fee tions  which  may  appear.  Slkxuld;  vye,  ,live  to  complete  it;  the;  work  will  contain  six  hundred 
biographies,  and  as  many portriaifa  in  six"vdlu^nesir^/al'tqctdvo,  6nc volume  to  be  issued  annually, 
making,  together,  twelve  hundred,  jwgbs .of  valuable  letterpress* 

We  commend  the  Artistical  and  Mechanical  clidrac'teV  of  our  book  to  the  notice  of  our  readers, 
with  the  confidence  that  it  will  compare  favorably  with  any  issues  from  the  press  of  a  similar 
nature. 

Trusting  that  we  shall  so  far  find  favor  with  the  American  public  as  to  encourage  us  in  our 
coming  labors,  we  bid  them  "  farewell  for  a  season." 

NEW  YORK,        )  A.  D.  JONES. 

January  1,  1853.  (  J.  M.  EMERSON. 


INDEX. 


A. 

PAGE 
59 

Hancock  John 

PAGE 

55 

«       John  Q 

119 

157 

"       Mrs  John 

71 

189 

"       Samuel 

53 

Henry,  Patrick  

61 

Allston  Washington 

195 

81 

I. 

Andre,  Jolm  

89 

Arnold  Benedict        .        . 

85 

Inman,  Henry  
Irvin"-  W 

201 
167 

15. 
Bainbrid-'p  "William. 

J. 

117 

Baird   Robert 

.   151 

Jay,  John  

63 

Uarnard  ,  JJ.  \)  
Bayard  J.  A  

<  1 
159 

Jefferson    Thomas 

45 

103 

91 

175 

Brooks  Jol/n        

107 

E.  C  

177 

Bryant,  TV  .  C  
Buff'oyne  Jolm         .        .        

99 

K. 

203 

Burritt   Elilm 

191 

C. 

13 

113 

Kosciusko,  rhaddcus  

L. 
La  Fsiyettc           

61 

Calhoun   J  C 

129 

Cass  Lewi"*  

181 

.    143 

..   105 

Choate  Rufus  

173 

Lincoln  Benjamin      

70 

161 

M. 
Marshall  C  J  

91 

Clay,  Henry  
Clinton  De  Yv'ilt 

211 
.  1-17 

Mnther   Cotton 

Columbus,  Christopher  
Cooper  J  F        ...       

9 
..  205 

A^cDonou0"!!  Thoma^        

131 

Montgomery   Richard 

7*) 

D. 
Dccatur,  Stephen  
Dewee^  W  P 

185 
1  S3 

95 

199 

0. 

127 

E. 

Endecott  John 

°7 

P. 

33 

F. 
Franklin  Beni'-imin  

43 

PPVVV    O    H 

.   145 

Fremont  JO         ...                .        .       .. 

\ 

119- 

137 

Frobisher  Martin 

37 

•      '    ' 

153 

Fulton,  Robert  

Ill 

•G. 

21 

Putnam,  Israel  •  •• 

73 

H 

Haliburton,  J  
Hamilton.  Alexander  .  . 

209 

,     51 

R. 
Rawson,  Rebecca    
Red  Jacket  

29 
1ST 

INDEX. 


PAGE 


Eittenhouse,  David. 
Benjamin 


98 


S. 

Schuyler,  Philip 105 

Scott,  Winfield  179 

Silliraan,  Benjamin 65 

Smith,  John 15 

Story,  Joseph 141 

Stuart,  C.  Gr 101 

T. 

Taylor,  Zachary 139 

Tecumseh 155 

V. 

Van  Buren,  Martin 193 

Vane,  Henry 25 


Van  Ness,  Marcia 125 

Vespuccius,  Americus 11 

W. 

Warren,  Joseph 49 

Washington,  George 41 

"           Martha 65 

Wayne,  Anthony 88 

Webster,  Noah 183 

West,  Benjamin 87 

Winslow,  Edward 19 

"        Josiah 17 

Penelope  31 

Winthrop,  John 23 

R.  0 207 

Woodbury,  Levi 169 

Wool,  J.  E 197 

Wolfe,  James 75 


PART     I. 


EMBRACING    THE    PERIOD    FROM    THE 


DISCOVERY    BY    COLUMBUS, 


TO     THE 


DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE. 


CHRISTOPHER    COLUMBUS. 

FEW  men  have  led  a  life  of  such  wild  and  glorious  adventure  as  the  subject  of  this 
brief  memoir;  and  none  have  exceeded  him  in  the  exhibition  of  those  manly 
virtues  which  command  the  admiration  of  the  world,  —  energy,  perseverance,  patience, 
and  the  power  of  endurance.  Of  obscure  parentage,  without  money  or  influential 
friends,  he  compelled  wealth  to  be  his  servant,  and  kings  to  do  homage  to  his  genius. 
Obstacles  hopelessly  insurmountable  to  others,  only  stimulated  his  energy,  and  he 
perceived  the  guaranty  of  success  when  all  around  him  saw  only  despair.  With  an 
unfaltering  faith  and  indomitable  will,  he  fulfilled  the  prophecy  of  his  soul,  and 
wreathed  his  brow  with  laurels  which  will  only  grow  fresher  and  greener  as  time 
advances. 

CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS  was  born  at  Genoa,  as  is  generally  conceded,  about  A.  D. 
1435-36.  But  little  is  known  of  his  early  life,  save  that  he  was  remarkable  for  his 
love  of  such  studies  as  peculiarly  fitted  him  for  a  maritime  life,  and  those  great 
adventures  of  which  Providence  made  him  the  principal  agent  and  moving  spirit. 

He  commenced  his  maritime  career  while  yet  a  mere  youth,  his  first  voyage  being 
a  naval  expedition  fitted  out  at  Genoa  in  1459,  by  John  of  Anjou,  Duke  of  Calabria, 
the  object  of  which  was  to  recover  the  kingdom  of  Naples  for  his  father,  Rene,  Count 
de  Provence. 


10  CHRISTOPHER    COLUMBUS 

For  many  years  after  this,  the  traces  of  his  career  are  faint,  although  it  is  evident 
that  his  life  passed  in  a  succession  of  naval  or  other  maritime  pursuits.  His  sagacious 
mind  led  him  to  believe  that  other  lands  lay  far  off  towards  the  setting  sun,  and  he 
resolved  to  convince  the  world  that  his  views  were  correct.  Poor  and  friendless  as 
he  was,  he  conceived  the  bold  idea  which  led  to  the  discovery  of  the  Western  Conti- 
nent. Full  of  this  purpose,  he  sought  the  aid  of  powerful  courts,  first  applying  to  the 
throne  of  Portugal,  and  then  to  that  of  Spain.  But  here  he  was  destined  to  encounter 
the  fiercest  opposition,  and  it  was  not  until  after  many  years  of  struggle  and  disap- 
pointment that  he  succeeded  in  securing  the  patronage  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 
who  fitted  him  out  with  a  squadron  of  three  small  vessels,  carrying  in  all  one  hundred 
and  twenty  persons,  among  whom  were  various  private  adventurers.  With  this  little 
fleet,  and  full  of  hope  and  the  solemn  purpose  he  had  so  long  and  ardently  cherished, 
he  set  sail  from  Huelva  on  the  3d  of  August,  1492. 

After  a  long  and  perilous  voyage,  in  which  the  terrors  of  the  Atlantic  were  among 
the  smallest  difficulties  he  had  to  encounter,  —  his  officers,  crews,  and  passengers  in 
almost  constant  fear  and  mutiny,  —  his  heart  was  made  glad,  and  the  fears  of  all 
dissipated,  by  the  joyous  cry  of  "  Land,  ho  !  "  on  the  morning  of  the  12th  of  October. 
1492. 

Columbus  speedily  landed,  and  took  solemn  possession  in  the  name  of  their 
Catholic  majesties,  amidst  a  wondering  crowd  of  naked  savages,  who  received  him 
with  simple  sincerity,  little  dreaming  of  the  strange  and  sad  results  which  were  to 
grow  out  of  the  pageant  that  filled  their  dazzled  eyes. 

After  refreshing  and  resting  his  worn-out  band,  he  cruised  among  the  islands  (to 
which  he  gave  the  general  name  of  West  Indies)  for  several  months,  and  then,  on  the 
4th  of  January,  set  sail  on  his  return  to  Spain.  His  return  was  hailed  as  a  triumph, 
and  he  was  treated  with  all  the  pomp  and  ceremony  of  a  mighty  conqueror. 

He  soon  sailed,  with  a  larger  and  better  provisioned  argosy,  to  the  New  World, 
bearing  the  titles,  prerogatives,  and  honors  of  admiral,  viceroy,  and  governor  of  all 
the  countries  he  had  discovered  or  might  discover,  and  with  unlimited  powers  tc 
make  and  administer  laws,  form  governments,  erect  cities,  &c.  He  reached  the 
place  of  his  destination  after  a  pleasant  voyage,  and  immediately  began  to  carry  into 
execution  the  plans  he  had  so  long  and  so  fondly  cherished.  But  the  star  of  Colum- 
bus had  passed  its  zenith.  He  had  taken  with  him  the  seeds  of  faction,  which 
speedily  germinated  and  ripened  into  bitter  fruit.  Intrigues  at  court,  and  treachery 
in  his  own  quarters,  made  his  lot  one  of  continual  strife  and  discomfort,  and  he  at 
length  returned  to  Spain  rather  as  a  prisoner  to  answer  for  misdemeanors  than  as  a 
conqueror  to  reap  new  honors. 

Still  again  do  we  find  him  making  a  voyage  to  the  New  World,  only  to  be  received 
suspiciously  and  treated  with  contumely  ;  and,  after  a  futile  effort  to  regain  his 
wonted  sway,  he  again  sought  redress  at  the  foot  of  the  throne.  But  alas !  his 
guardian  angel,  the  gentle  Isabella,  "had  gone  into  glory,"  and  Ferdinand  was 
guilty  of  the  meanest  duplicity  and  most  accursed  ingratitude.  Still  professing 
friendship  for  the  great  man  who  had  given  him  a  continent,  he  put  him  off,  day 
after  day,  with  false  promises  and  cruel  evasions,  until  the  old  mariner,  disgusted 
and  broken-hearted,  found  a  refuge  in  the  grave,  and  carried  up  his  cause  to  the 
court  of  heaven. 


AMERICUS    VESPUC1US. 


A  LTHO  UGH  our  country  bears  the  name  of  this  gentleman,  it  is  pretty  gen- 
-LJL  erally  conceded  that  the  honor  belongs  to  Columbus,  who  was  in  reality  its 
discoverer.  It  is  claimed,  and  with  a  good  degree  of  justice,  that  both  the  Norse- 
men and  the  Cabots  of  England  saw  the  continent  prior  either  to  Columbus  or 
Vespucius,  yet  the  first  occupation  of  the  country  is  due  to  Columbus,  and  it 
should  have  been  called  COLUMBIA,  instead  of  America.  But  it  is  too  late  now 
to  hope  for  a  change ;  and  since  it  is  so,  we  are  glad  that  so  euphonious  a  name 
distinguishes  the  western  continent. 

AMERICUS  VESPUCIUS  —  more  properly  Amerigo  Vespucci  —  was  born  in  Florence, 
in  1451.  He  descended  from  a  very  ancient  house,  and  belonged  to  one  of  the 
proudest  families  of  that  celebrated  city.  His  education  was  respectable,  and  he 
was  possessed  of  a  bold  and  enterprising  spirit.  Fired  with  the  accounts  of  the 
discoveries  of  Columbus,  he  became  desirous  to  see  the  New  World  for  himself, 
and  accordingly,  on  the  20th  of  May,  1497,  he  sailed  from  Cadiz,  as  a  merchant, 
with  a  squadron  of  four  small  ships,  under  command  of  the  celebrated  and  valiant 
Ojeda.  During  this  voyage,  Americus  claims  to  have  seen  the  continent.  He 
may  have  done  so,  but  much  doubt  envelops  the  matter.  At  all  events,  his 

2 


12  AMERICUS    VESPUCIUS. 

success  was  such  as  to  induce  Ferdinand  and  Isabella  to  place  a  fleet  of  six  ships 
under  his  command,  when  he  made  his  second  voyage.  On  his  return,  in  1500, 
he  received  the  same  ungracious  treatment  from  the  contemptible  Ferdinand  which 
had  been  visited  on  Columbus ;  and  he  returned  to  Seville  mortified  and  disgusted 
at  the  ingratitude  of  princes. 

A  rank  and  growing  jealousy  existed  in  all  the  courts  of  Europe  of  the  glory 
and  wealth  achieved  by  Spain  in  her  new  discoveries.  Emanuel,  King  of  Portugal, 
hearing  of  the  humiliation  of  Vespucci,  invited  him  to  his  court,  and  offered  to 
fit  out  a  fleet  of  three  ships,  and  give  him  the  command.  Gladly  accepting  the 
proposal  of  the  Portuguese  king,  he  sailed  from  Lisbon  in  May,  1501,  and  explored 
the  coast  of  South  America  from  Brazil  to  Patagonia,  and  returned,  laden  with 
riches  and  honors,  to  Lisbon,  in  September,  1502. 

Emanuel  was  so  greatly  pleased  with  the  results  of  this  first  voyage  of  discovery, 
that  he  placed  six  larger  vessels  at  the  disposal  of  Vespucci,  and  he  again  set  sail 
on  his  fourth  and  last  voyage,  in  May,  1503.  The  great  object  of  this  voyage  was 
to  discover  a  western  passage  to  the  Molucca  Islands.  Falling  short  of  provisions, 
he  was  foiled  in  the  attempt,  and  after  visiting  Brazil,  and  loading  his  ships  with 
the  valuable  wood  of  that  country,  and  other  precious  products,  he  returned  to 
Portugal,  after  an  absence  of  but  little  more  than  a  year.  The  rich  cargoes  he 
brought  home  partially  compensated  for  the  want  of  success  in  the  main  purpose 
of  the  voyage,  and  Americus  was  received  with  every  demonstration  of  joy  and 
respect. 

Vespucci  now  retired  from  the  busy  scenes  of  life,  and  devoted  himself  to  the 
preparation  of  a  history  of  his  adventures,  and  to  the  performance  of  duties 
growing  out  of  the  office  of  chief  pilot  to  Spain,  to  which  he  had  been  appointed  by 
Ferdinand.  His  duties  were  the  drawing  and  correcting  of  sea  charts.  He  drew 
and  published  the  first  chart  of  the  American  coast,  in  which  he  laid  claim  to  be 
the  discoverer  of  the  country. 

In  1507,  he  published  his  history  of  all  the  voyages  he  had  made  to  America, 
and  his  work  was  read  all  over  Europe  with  great  delight.  It  was  filled  with  • 
most  glowing  accounts  of  the  New  World,  mixed  up  with  the  most  splendid 
fictions,  superlatively  elaborated  sentences  and  apocryphal  events.  It  was  pub- 
lished just  after  the  death  of  Columbus,  and  was  thus  placed  beyond  the  reach 
of  that  eminent  navigator,  who,  had  he  lived,  would  doubtless  have  exposed  the 
pretensions  of  its  author. 

He  lived  but  a  few  years  after  this,  and  died  at  Tercera,  in  the  sixty-third  year 
of  his  age,  in  1514. 


SEBASTIAN    CABOT. 


JOHN  CABOT,  the  father  of  Sebastian,  of  whom  we  have  no  portrait,  was  a 
Venetian  by  birth,  but  a  resident  of  England  at  the  time  of  the  birth  of  the 
subject  of  this  memoir.  Under  the  patronage  of  King  Henry  VII.  he  sailed  on  a 
voyage  of  discovery  in  1497,  accompanied  by  his  son  Sebastian,  then  only  twenty 
years  of  age.  The  elder  Cabot  had  three  sons,  whom  he  educated  especially  as 
navigators.  Sebastian  was  the  second  son.  In  this  voyage  the  continent  is  said  to 
have  been  seen  for  the  first  time,  and  was  explored  from  the  sixty-seventh  degree  of 
latitude  to  Florida. 

SEBASTIAN  CABOT  was  born  at  Bristol,  England,  in  1476—7.  As  we  have  seen,  he 
accompanied  his  father  on  his  first  voyage  in  1499.  He  sailed  again  under  commis- 
sion from  the  court  of  England,  in  1517.  His  object,  like  that  of  Vespucius,  was  to 
discover  a  new  passage  to  the  East  Indies.  In  this  he  was  disappointed,  and  re- 
turned to  England  without  having  added  to  the  amount  of  knowledge  obtained  on 
the  former  voyage. 

In  1525,  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  of  Spain,  invited  him  to  court,  showed  him  many 
flattering  attentions,  and  put  a  fleet  under  his  command,  which  sailed  in  April  of  the 
same  year.  He  visited  the  coast  of  Brazil,  and  entered  a  great  river,  to  which  he 
gave  the  name  of  Rio  de  la  Plata,  running  up  its  course  between  three  and  four  hun- 


14  SEBASTIAN    CABOT. 

dred  miles.  He  consumed  six  years  in  this  voyage,  and  made  many  valuable  addi- 
tions to  the  geography  and  natural  history  of  the  country.  On  his  return  to  Spain 
in  1531,  he  experienced,  like  all  others  who  shared  the  patronage  of  that  court,  the 
fickleness  and  perfidy  of  the  weak  and  vacillating  Ferdinand. 

Cabqt  made  several  other  voyages,  of  which  we  have  no  veritable  records,  and  at 
length  retired  to  Seville,  holding  the  commission  of  chief  pilot  to  the  court  of  Spain. 
In  this  capacity  he  drew  many  valuable  charts,  in  which  he  delineated  not  only  his 
own,  but  all  others'  discoveries.  It  fell  to  him,  also,  to  draw  up  the  instructions  of 
those  who  sailed  on  new  voyages  of  discovery,  some  of  which  are  still  extant,  and 
exhibit  an  unusual  sagacity  in  their  conception,  and  a  remarkable  perspicacity  in 
their  execution. 

In  his  old  age  he  returned  to  England,  and  resided  once  more  at  Bristol,  the  place 
of  his  birth,  supported  by  a  pension  from  King  Edward  VI.  He  was  also  appointed 
governor  of  a  company  of  merchants,  associated  for  the  purpose  of  making  voyages 
of  discovery  to  unknown  lands  —  an  office  for  which  his  vast  experience  and  knowl- 
edge eminently  fitted  him.  Perhaps  no  man  of  his  age  did  more  to  give  an  impulse 
to  the  commerce  of  England  than  Cabot.  He  was  the  founder  of  the  "  Russian 
Company,"  and  the  projector  of  several  commercial  enterprises,  from  which  England 
derived  no  inconsiderable  importance.  He  cherished  the  belief  that  a  north-east  pas- 
sage to  China  might  yet  be  found,  and  died  in  the  faith. 

The  last  account  we  can  find  of  him  is  the  relation  of  a  pleasing  arid  characteristic 
incident,  which  occurred  in  1556,  about  a  year  previous  to  his  death.  The  company 
had  fitted  out  a  vessel,  which  was  just  ready  to  sail  on  a  voyage  of  discovery  ;  and, 
as  was  his  custom,  he  visited  the  ship  in  person  to  see  if  every  thing  was  in  accord- 
ance with  his  instructions.  He  mingled  freely  with  the  seamen  and  passengers, 
having  a  cheerful  word  for  each,  and  a  smile  and  benediction  for  all.  "  The  good 
old  man  Cabota,"  says  the  journal  of  the  voyage,  still  extant,  "  gave  to  the  poor  most 
liberal  alms,  wishing  them  to  pray  for  the  good  fortune  and  prosperous  success  of 
our  pinnace.  And  then,  at  the  sign  of  St.  Christopher,  he  and  his  friends  being 
rested,  and  for  very  joy,  that  he  had  seen  the  towardness  of  our  intended  discovery, 
he  entered  into  the  dance  himself  among  the  rest  of  the  young  and  lusty  company ; 
which  being  ended,  he  and  his  friends  departed,  most  gently  commending  us  to  the 
governance  of  Almighty  God."  It  is  a  pleasant  picture  of  the  greenness  and  fresh- 
ness of  his  soul,  although  cumbered  with  the  decaying  tenement  in  which  it  had 
been  enclosed  for  nearly  eighty  years. 

Cabot  lived  but  a  year  after  this  event,  and  died  at  Bristol,  in  1557,  aged  eighty 
years.  He  was  a  most  remarkable  man.  Sagacious,  methodical,  thorough,  and 
persevering,  he  was  just  the  man  for  his  office,  whether  he  trod  the  quarter  deck  of 
his  vessels,  or  presided  at  the  board  of  commerce  and  navigation,  of  which  he  was 
governor  for  so  many  years.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  mild  and  gentle  person  in 
all  his  relations  on  shore,  although  he  was  a  rigid  and  even  severe  disciplinarian  at 
sea ;  and  there  are  some  intimations  that  he  was  even  cruel  in  his  treatment  of 
offenders  against  the  regulations  of  his  squadrons.  He  is  supposed  to  have  been  the 
first  navigator  who  noticed  the  variations  of  the  magnetic  needle,  and  he  published  a 
work  in  Venice,  in  1533,  on  the  subject.  He  also  published  a  large  map,  which  was 
engraved  by  Clement  Adams,  and  placed  in  the  King's  Gallery,  at  Whitehall.  On 
this  map  was  inscribed,  in  Latin,  an  account  of  the  discovery  of  Newfoundland. 


CAPTAIN    JOHN    SMITH. 


IN  April,  1607,  there  arrived  on  the  coast  of  Virginia  a  fleet  of  three  small  vessels, 
whose  joint  tonnage  amounted  to  less  than  two  hundred  tons,  containing  a  colo- 
ny, whose  master  spirit  was  the  hero  of  this  notice,  CAPTAIN  JOHN  SMITH.     Thrice 
had  the  attempt  been  made  to  plant  a  colony  on  the  shores  of  Virginia,  and  thrice 
had  it  failed.     This  time  they  were  more  successful.     They  located  themselves  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  James  River,  about  fifty  miles  from  its  mouth,  and  called  the  place, 
after  the  English  monarch,  Jamestown.     The  most  discordant  elements  were  mixed 
up  in  the  little  company  that  was  destined  to  be  the   germ   of  Virginia's  future 
greatness ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  sagacity  and  wisdom  of  Smith,  they  had, 
like  those  who  went  before  them,  perished  within  a  twelvemonth.     But  his  genius* 
and  courage  were  equal  to  the  emergency.     When  provisions  could  not  be  purcha  first 
of  the  Indians,  he  seized  their  idols,  and  compelled  the  savages  to  redeem  th  rights  of 
corn  ;  and  by  his  severe  example  and  discipline  he  kept  the  turbulent  spch  they  had 
little  colony  in  subjection.     The  savages  regarded   him  with  awe  an<Var  was  coinci- 
compassing  his  life  by  every  ingenious  artifice,  and  now  reverencr,  and  proved  him- 
While  on  an  exploring  expedition,  he  was  taken  prisoner,  after  v 


16  JOHN    SMITH. 

his  foes  with  his  own  hand.  He  was  carried  before  Powhatan,  and  for  some  time 
was  feasted,  and  fantastically  dressed  and  carried  about  as  a  show.  At  length,  in 
solemn  council,  he  was  condemned  to  death,  and  preparations  were  made  to  carry  the 
sentence  into  immediate  execution.  His  head  was  laid  on  a  stone,  and  a  stalwart 
Indian  stood  ready,  with  a  war  club,  to  dash  out  his  brains.  Just  as  the  blow  was 
about  to  descend,  Pocahontas,  the  favorite  daughter  of  Powhatan,  threw  herself  upon 
the  victim,  and  shielded  his  head  in  her  own  bosom.  Her  entreaties  prevailed,  and 
he  was  liberated  and  sent  back  to  Jamestown,  in  rude  and  savage  triumph. 

Here  the  good  sense  and  courage  of  Smith  prevented  the  breaking  up  of  the  col- 
ony. Early  in  the  seventeenth  century,  he  was  very  seriously  injured  by  the  prema- 
ture explosion  of  his  powder  flask  while  on  one  of  his  exploring  rambles,  in  conse- 
quence of  which  he  returned  to  England  for  medical  advice.  He  never  recovered 
from  the  effects  of  this  disaster,  and  after  various  adventures  he  died  in  London,  in 
1631,  in  the  fifty-second  year  of  his  age. 

Few  men  have  exhibited  such  a  love  for  the  romance  of  life,  and  few  have  been 
more  gratified  in  this  respect,  than  the  brave  and  gallant  Captain  John  Smith.  He 
exhibited  this  trait  in  early  childhood,  engaging  in  the  most  reckless  and  dangerous 
exploits.  At  thirteen,  he  sold  his  school  books  and  satchel  to  raise  money  to  run 
away,  it  being  his  purpose  to  go  to  sea.  At  fifteen,  he  left  his  master  and  went  into 
France  and  the  Low  Countries.  At  seventeen,  having  acquired  a  little  money,  he 
embarked  once  more  to  carve  out  his  own  fortune,  in  company  with  some  pilgrims 
bound  for  Italy.  A  violent  tempest  assailing  the  ship,  Smith,  who  was  deemed  the 
cause  of  the  misfortune,  —  he  being  the  only  heretic  on  board,  —  was  thrown  over- 
board, and  saved  his  life  by  swimming  to  the  shore.  After  this,  he  entered  the  ser- 
\  ice  of  Austria,  and  so  won  the  confidence  of  the  emperor  as  to  be  intrusted  with  an 
important  command.  At  the  siege  of  Regal,  he  accepted  the  challenge  of  a  Turkish 
lord,  and  smote  off  his  head,  fighting  on  horseback.  A  second,  and  a  third,  shared 
the  same  fate.  He  was  finally  taken  prisoner,  and  escaped  by  slaying  his  master; 
and,  after  visiting  Russia,  he  returned  to  England,  and  immediately  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  the  colonization  of  North  America. 

Smith  published  several  volumes  of  his  voyages  and  adventures  in  America,  as 
well  as  a  map  of  the  whole  coast  from  the  Penobscot  to  the  James  Rivers,  giving  both 
the  Indian  and  the  English  names  of  the  principal  places. 


sea 

offenders 
first  navigator 
work  in  Venic 
engraved  by  Clemei 
this  map  was  inscribe 


\ 


GOVERNOR    JOSIAH    WINSLOW. 


JOSIAH  WINSLO  W  was  the  first  New  England  bom  governor.  Hitherto  that 
office  had  been  filled  by  men  whose  birthplace  was  abroad.  Now  they  had 
begun  to  raise  their  own  officers  and  magistrates ;  and  this  first  American  production 
was  an  honor  to  the  new  world  and  to  his  colony.  Marshfield  claims  the  honor  of  his 
birthplace,  and  he  was  born  in  1629,  just  nine  years  after  the  arrival  of  the  Pilgrims. 
He  was  the  son  of  Edward  Winslow,  one  of  the  company  which  came  over  in  the 
Mayflower,  the  third  governor  of  Plymouth  colony. 

Josiah  Winslow  was  born  of  brave  stock,  of  which  he  proved  to  be  no  degenerate 
scion.  He  was  a  man  of  proper  person,  charming  address,  a  well  cultivated  mind, 
and  an  amiable  disposition.  These  traits,  added  to  his  fearless  courage  and  military 
bearing,  all  resting  on  a  highly  refined  piety  for  their  base,  eminently  fitted  him  for 
the  then  highly  important  office  of  governor,  and  gave  him  great  popularity.  His  first 
public  act,  after  he  was  chosen  governor,  was  the  restoration  to  their  civil  rights  of 
Isaac  Robinson,  son  of  Rev.  John  Robinson,  and  Mr.  Cudworth,  of  which  they  had 
been  deprived  on  account  of  their  religious  opinions.  King  Philip's  war  was  coinci- 
dent with  his  administration,  in  which  war  he  did  eminent  service,  and  proved  him- 


18  JOSIAH    WINSLOW 

self  a  sagacious  leader  and  a  brave  warrior.  He  was  mild  and  tolerant  himself,  and 
could  not  endure  the  persecutions  which  were  pursued  against  nonconformists,  of 
whatever  name.  His  moral  was  fully  equal  to  his  physical  courage.  He  encoun- 
tered public  prejudice  with  the  same  unblenching  resolution  that  he  exposed  himself 
to  the  bullets  and  ambushes  of  the  Indians. 

He  commenced  his  public  life  very  early.  No  sooner  had  he  arrived  at  the  age 
eligible  to  office,  than  he  was  chosen  deputy  to  the  General  Court  from  his  native 
town ;  and  from  that  period  to  his  election  as  governor,  he  was  constantly  employed 
in  public  business.  In  1637,  soon  after  the  death  of  his  father,  he  was  elected  to  the 
office  of  commander-in-chief  of  the  military  forces  of  the  colony.  For  many  years  he 
was  one  of  the  commissioners  of  the  confederated  colonies.  He  was  of  the  number 
"  bom  to  honors,"  and  they  crowned  his  whole  life.  Of  highly  polished  manners, 
greatly  gifted  in  conversation,  fond  of  society,  and  blessed  withal  with  the  means  to 
gratify  himself  in  all  these  respects,  the  social  and  festive  scenes  of  "Careswell" 
were  of  the  most  delightful,  refined,  and  instructive  kind.  Here,  with  his  beautiful 
wife  presiding,  he  won  for  himself  the  proud  distinction  of  being  "  the  most  accom- 
plished gentleman  and  the  most  delightful  companion  in  all  New  England." 

He  married  the  daughter  of  Herbert  Pelham,  Esq.,  who  early  took  a  deep  interest 
in  the  New  England  colonies.  In  1637  he  came  over  to  America,  but  returned  again 
to  England  after  a  short  sojourn. 

Governor  Winslow  never  enjoyed  very  robust  health,  and  his  exposures  and  hard- 
ships in  Philip's  war,  in  which  he  rendered  most  important  service,  exhibiting  the 
stern  qualities  of  a  soldier,  combined  with  the  shrewdness  and  circumspection  of 
a  diplomatist,  doubtless  aggravated  his  disease  and  accelerated  his  death,  which  took 
place  on  the  18th  of  December,  1680,  in  the  fifty-second  year  of  his  age. 

Although  he  died  in  the  prime  of  life,  he  departed  full  of  honors,  carrying  with 
him  the  love  and  respect  of  the  entire  colony,  and  of  a  numerous  circle  of  friends 
both  in  the  old  world  and  the  new 


EDWARD    WINSLOW. 


T)Y  a  wise  economy  in  the  moral  realm,  all  great  exigencies  in  the  world 
JLj  produce  those  master  spirits  which  are  necessary  to  guide  and  regulate  them. 
The  golden  dreams  which  the  discovery  of  the  New  World  by  Columbus  had 
produced  throughout  Europe  had  long  been  dissipated  by  the  stern  truth.  In 
England,  all  that  was  sterile  and  bleak  was  associated  with  New  England,  and 
nothing  was  found  there  to  tempt  cupidity  or  promise  fame.  For  many  years 
would  the  Indians  of  Massachusetts  Bay  have  remained  in  undisturbed  possession 
of  their  broad  hunting  grounds,  had  not  a  spirit  of  intolerance  at  home  led  the 
austere  but  devout  Puritans,  deeming  their  religious  freedom  of  more  value  than 
personal  liberty  and  pleasant  homes,  to  seek,  as  exiles  in  an  unkindly  climate, 
"  freedom  to  worship  God." 

They  came  here  to  establish  a  church  —  they  founded  an  empire !  They  came 
to  sow  and  nourish  the  plants  of  religious  freedom;  and  out  of  it  sprang  the 
mighty  tree  of  civil  and  political  liberty!  They  came  to  build  up  a  colony — and 
lo,  a  mighty  and  independent  nation ! 

John  Carver  was  the  first  governor  of  the  new  colony,  and  William  Bradford  the 
second.  As  no  portraits  of  these  eminent  men  are  extant,  we  are  obliged,  with 


20  EDWARD     WINSLOW. 

great  reluctance,  to  pass  them  by,  and  come  to  the  third,  the  subject  of  this 
brief  memoir. 

EDWARD  WINSLOW  was  born  in  Droitwich,  in  England,  in  1594.  At  a  very 
early  period  of  life,  he  became  acquainted  with  the  Puritans,  and  embraced  their 
doctrines.  Determining  to  share  their  fortunes,  he  married  among  them,  and 
embarked  on  board  the  Mayflower.  His  name  comes  next  after  those  of  Carver 
and  Bradford.  Soon  after  his  arrival,  he  buried  his  wife,  and  in  due  time,  married 
Mrs.  Susannah  White.  Mrs.  White  was  the  first  white  mother  in  New  England, 
and  as  this  was  the  first  marriage,  became  also  the  first  white  bride. 

Winslow  was  one  of  the  choice  spirits  of  these  trying  times.  Born  and  educated 
in  a  gentleman's  family,  he  had  acquired  a  suavity  of  address  not  common  with 
the  Puritans.  He  exhibited  uncommon  tact  and  sagacity  in  his  intercourse  with 
the  savages,  and  in  the  management  of  fiscal  affairs.  With  all  this  he  was  a  man 
of  most  unyielding  integrity  and  fervent  piety.  These  qualities  caused  him  to  be 
frequently  made  ambassador  to  the  court  at  home,  and  to  the  neighboring  chiefs, 
many  of  whom  acquired  an  affectionate  regard  for  hirn,  which  ended  only  with 
their  lives.  His  visit  to  the  dying  Massasoit,  to  whose  necessities  he  adminis- 
tered with  his  own  hand,  and  who  by  his  kind  attentions  was  restored  to  life,  is 
characteristic,  and  won  for  him  the  love  and  respect  of  all  the  Indians. 

He  made  frequent  voyages  to  England  on  the  business  of  the  colony,  and  while 
there  wrote  a  book  on  the  condition  of  New  England.  It  was  entitled  "  Good 
News  from  New  England,  or  a  Relation  of  Things  remarkable  in  that  Plantation, 
by  E.  Winslow."  On  one  of  his  return  voyages,  in  1624,  he  imported  the  first  neat 
cattle  ever  seen  in  New  England. 

He  was  first  elected  governor  in  1633,  which  office  he  held  at  various  times 
until  1650.  When  the  Puritans  obtained  political  ascendency  in  England,  Wins- 
low  was  there.  His  talents  and  character  were  appreciated  by  Cromwell,  who 
offered  him  such  distinctions  as  induced  him  to  remain  in  England,  and  he  never 
afterwards  returned  to  America. 

When  Cromwell  sent  out  an  expedition  for  the  reduction  of  St.  Domingo, 
Winslow  was  appointed  chief  commissioner,  with  full  powers  to  superintend  the 
operations  of  the  expedition,  and  to  negotiate  and  make  terms  with  the  insurgents. 
This  was  the  last  act  in  his  useful  life.  He  took  the  fever  incidental  to  the 
climate,  which  carried  him  off  on  the  9th  of  May,  1655,  in  the  sixty-second  year 
of  his  age. 

Thus  died  a  great  and  good  man.  The  dazzle  of  military  glory  or  courtly  splen- 
dor rests  not  on  his  fame,  but  a  halo  of  moral  grandeur  encircles  his  brow,  which 
outshines  all  lower  glories,  and  which  shall  last,  and  burn,  and  glorify  him, 

"  When  victors'  wreaths  and  monarchs'  gems 
Shall  blend  in  common  dust." 


X          I 


POCAHONTAS. 


T^HIS  beautiful  Indian  princess,  whose  romantic  story  has  filled  so  many  bosoms 
with  wondering  emotion,  and  whose  sad  and  early  fate  has  dimmed  so  many 
eyes,  was  the  daughter  of  Powhatan,  or  Wahunsonacock^  the  most  powerful  of  all 
the  chiefs  in  the  sunny  regions  of  James  River  and  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  was  born 
about  1594-5.  Her  name  signifies  a  run  between  two  hills.  She  seems  to  have  been 
as  amiable  and  intelligent  as  she  was  beautiful ;  and  to  her  love  for  the  English  the 
colony  at  Jamestown  owes  its  preservation  from  destruction.  We  first  hear  of  her 
on  a  visit  of  Smith  to  Powhatan.  That  chief  being  absent,  Pocahontas  did  the 
barbarous  honors  on  a  grand  scale,  nearly  frightening  Smith  and  his  associates  out 
of  their  wits. 

The  next  year  after  Smith  arrived  at  Jamestown,  he  fell  into  the  hands  of  Pow- 
hatan, as  has  been  narrated  in  the  brief  notice  of  "the  redoubtable  captain,"  in  an- 
other part  of  this  volume.  After  much  feasting  and  parade,  it  was  decided,  "in  a 


22  POCAHONTAS. 

grand  council  of  more  than  two  hundred  grim  warriors,"  that  Smith  should  be  put 
to  death.  Accordingly  two  stones  were  brought  into  the  council  chamber,  and  with 
great  noise  and  shouting  Smith  was  dragged  forth,  and  his  head  laid  upon  one 
of  them,  the  savages  standing  by  ready  with  clubs  to  despatch  him.  At  this  mo- 
ment, Pocahontas,  who  seems  to  have  conceived  a  partiality  for  Smith,  although  not 
more  than  twelve  or  thirteen  years  old,  threw  herself  upon  his  body,  and  laid  her 
head  close  to  his,  entreating  her  grim  and  savage  sire  to  spare  his  victim.  Her 
prayers  were  effectual,  and  Smith  was  restored  to  his  friends. 

At  another  time,  while  Smith  was  on  a  visit  to  Powhatan,  Pocahontas,  learning 
that  it  was  determined  to  take  his  life,  conveyed  him  away  into  a  thick  wood,  and 
sent  his  murderers  off  in  an  opposite  direction  from  that  in  which  he  lay  concealed. 

Subsequently,  when  the  garrison  was  weak  and  the  colony  reduced  by  sickness 
and  famine,  it  was  resolved  by  the  savages  to  destroy  the  colony.  Here,  again, 
Pocahontas  became  the  deliverer  of  Smith  and  his  band  of  famished  men.  Alone, 
amidst  the  darkness  of  a  dismal  and  stormy  night,  she  made  her  way  through  the 
dense  forest,  and  rousing  Smith  from  his  insecure  slumbers,  made  known  to  him  the 
danger  that  impended  over  him  and  his  companions.  Grateful  to  his  youthful 
savior,  he  would  have  heaped  upon  her  those  trinkets  in  which  he  knew  a  young 
maiden  savage  delighted  ;  but  she  resolutely  declined  them  with  tears,  and  betook 
herself  to  her  dreary  return  through  the  wilderness  and  the  storm,  happy  that  she  had 
saved  the  lives  of  her  friends. 

Pocahontas  seems  to  have  been  most  strongly  attached  to  Captain  Smith,  but 
whether  it  was  love  or  reverence  which  drew  her  to  him  it  is  impossible  to  say. 
From  the  fact  that  she  was  ready  so  soon  to  marry  another,  we  are  inclined  to  be- 
lieve it  was  the  latter.  But  from  the  time  of  Smith's  departure  for  England,  in 
1609,  she  was  seen  no  more  in  Jamestown,  until  she  was  forcibly  and  treacherously 
abducted,  in  1611,  and  held  as  a  hostage  by  the  English  for  the  space  of  two  years, 
during  which  time  she  was  kept  a  prisoner  on  board  a  ship. 

It  was  during  this  hostageship  that  Pocahontas  formed  an  attachment  with  one 
John  Rolfe,  with  whom,  by  the  consent  of  Sir  Thomas  Dale  and  her  kingly  father, 
she  entered  into  the  holy  bonds  of  matrimony.  She  lived  happily  with  her  husband, 
expressing  no  wish  to  return  again  to  savage  life.  She  embraced  the  Christian 
religion,  went  to  England,  was  presented  to  court,  and  was  about  to  embark  once 
more  for  her  native  country,  when  she  fell  sick  and  died,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty- 
two,  leaving  one  son,  from  whom  have  sprung  some  of  the  noblest  stock  of  the  Old 
Dominion. 

Her  meeting  with  Smith  is  described  as  being  truly  affecting.  Owing  to  the 
prejudices  of  the  times,  "  he  objected  to  being  called  father  by  the  child  of  a  king, 
which  she  was  greatly  desirous  of  doing."  At  their  first  interview,  after  sitting  in 
silence  for  a  long  time,  she  said  to  him,  "  You  promised  my  father  that  what  was 
yours  should  be  his,  and  that  you  and  lie  should  be  all  one.  Being-  a  stranger  in  our 
country,  you  called  Powhatan  father ;  and  I,  for  the  same  reason,  will  now  call  you  so. 
You  were  not  afraid  to  come  into  my  country  and  strike  fear  into  every  body  but  me  ; 
and  are  you  now  afraid  to  have  me  call  you  father  ?  I  tell  you,  then,  I  will  call  you 
father,  and  you  shall  call  me  child ;  and  so  I  will  forever  be  of  your  kindred  and 
country." 


JOHN    WINTHROP 


BY  some  strange  mistake,  nearly  all  the  early  historians  of  New  England  have 
called  Winthrop  the  first  governor  of  Massachusetts.  But  nothing  is  more 
certain  than  that  John  Endecott  has  the  honor  of  first  acting  in  that  capacity,  as  we 
have  already  stated  in  his  memoir.  Endecott  was  chosen  by  the  Company  in  Eng- 
land before  they  removed  the  seat  of  their  authority  to  the  Massachusetts  Bay  ;  and 
Winthrop  was  elected  first  after  the  transfer.  But  he  also  was  elected  in  England, 
and  Endecott  served  a  full  year  before  Winthrop  came  to  this  country. 

JOHN  WINTHROP  was  born  on  the  12th  of  June,  1587,  in  Groton,  Suffolk  county. 
England,  of  a  highly  respectable  family,  and  received,  in  his  early  life,  the  best  edu- 
cation that  England  could  offer.  He  was  bred  to  the  law,  but  being  of  a  religious 
turn  of  mind,  did  not  devote  himself  with  much  energy  to  his  profession.  He  was 
possessed  of  considerable  wealth,  and  the  path  of  ambition  and  fame  was  open 
before  him.  He  had,  however,  become  converted  to  the  faith  of  the  Puritans,  and 
he  resolved  to  commit  his  fortunes  to  the  support  of  the  cause  in  the  then  infant 
church  in  New  England.  He  converted  his  large  estate  into  ready  money,  and  hav- 
ing been  elected  governor  of  the  Massachusetts  colony,  he  embarked  for  America  at 
the  age  of  forty-two,  arriving  at  Salem  on  the  12th  of  June,  1630,  and  immedi- 
ately entered  on  his  duties  as  governor  of  "  the  colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay." 


24  JOHN     W  I  NT  II  R  OP. 

On  the  removal  of  the   seat  of  government  to  Boston,  which  occurred  soon  after, 
Governor  Winthrop  took  up  his   residence   there,  where  he  resided  until  his  death, 
which  took  place  on  the  26th  of  March,  1649,  in  the  sixty-third  year  of  his  age 
was  a  man  of  polished  manners,  possessed  of  great  firmness  mingled  with  gentleness, 
and  was  admirably  adapted  to  the  situation  in  which  he  was  placed.     He  ruled  wit 
great  discretion  in  all  the  financial  and  political  matters  of  the  colony,  but  with  great 
severity  in  all  things  appertaining  to  religious  faith  and  life.     He  knew  no  toleration 
for  heresy,  and  could  not  wink  at  any  open  immorality.     He  had  withal  a  very  low  | 
estimate  of  the  intelligence  of  the  masses,  and  deemed  them  utterly  incapable  of 
ruling  themselves.     When  the  people  of  Connecticut  were  about  forming  a  govern- 
ment, they  sought  the  advice  of  Winthrop.     Among  other  things  in  his  answer,  he 
writes  thus  :  «  The  best  part  of  a  community  is  always  the  least,  and  of  that 
part  the  wiser  are  still  less." 

In  a  speech  delivered  before  the  General  Court,  we  have  his  idea  of"  a  pure  democ- 
racy "  «  You  have  called  us  to  office,"  he  says,  «  but  being  called,  we  have  authority 
from  God  •  it  is  the  ordinance  of  God,  and  hath  the  image  of  God  stamped  upon  it; 
and  the  contempt  of  it  hath  been  vindicated  by  God  with  terrible  examples  of  his 

vengeance There  is  a  liberty  of  corrupt  nature  which  is  inconsistent  wit 

authority,  impatient  of  restraint,  the  grand  enemy  of  truth   and  peace,  and  all  the 
ordinances  of  God  are  bent  against  it.     But  there  is  a  civil,  sacred,  federal  liberty, 
which  consists  in  every  one's  enjoying  his  property,  and  having  the  benefit  of  the 
laws  of  his  country;  a  liberty  for  that  only  which  is  just  and  good;  for  this 
you  are  to  stand  with  your  lives." 

He,  however,  became  more  tolerant  of  religious  opinion  as  he  grew  older,  and  was 
far  less  harsh  in  his  treatment  of  those  who  thought  differently  from  himself, 
was  naturally  of  a  noble  and  benevolent  turn,  and  the  acidity  of  his  faith  could  not 
utterly  cover  the  leaven  of  his  generosity.     He   sympathized  deeply  with   all 
neighboring  colonies,  corresponding  with,  visiting,  and   advising  them  in  all  things 
pertaining  to  the  general  weal.     He  was  endowed  with  an  excellent  judgment,  which 
he  exercised  with   great  coolness   and  deliberation.     He  was   also  assiduous   in  his 
duties,  and  labored  with  unwearying  diligence  to  accomplish  them. 

Governor  Winthrop  came  to  New  England  possessed  of  considerable  wealth,  and 
died  a  poor  man.  Exceedingly  benevolent,  and  deeming  no  sacrifice  too  great  for 
the  holy  cause  to  which  he  had  consecrated  himself,  he  therefore  gave  freely  of  his 
fortune,  as  of  his  time  and  intellect,  in  its  support. 

An  anecdote  is  related  of  him  which  exhibits  at  one  view  his  benevolence  and  his 
humor.  During  the  severe  cold  of  a  hard  winter,  when  wood  was  both  scarce  and 
dear,  he  was  told  that  a  poor  neighbor  was  in  the  habit  of  drawing  his  supply  of  fuel 
from  his  wood  pile.  «  Is  he?"  replied  the  governor,  in  much  seeming  anger;  «  send 
him  to  me,  and  I  will  cure  him  of  his  stealing  any  more."  When  the  culprit  came 
trembling  into  his  presence,  he  put  on  his  blandest  expression,  and  taking  him  by  the 
hand,  said  to  him,  «  Friend,  it  is  a  cold  winter,  and  I  hear  that  you  are  meanly  pro- 
vided with  wood.  You  are  welcome  to  help  yourself  at  my  wood  pile  until  the 
winter  is  over."  He  afterwards  merrily  asked  his  informant  if  he  did  not  think  tha 
he  had  cured  the  man  of  stealing. 


SIR    HENRY    VANE. 


IT  requires  a  much  loftier  and  nobler  courage  than  that  which  enables  the  hero  to 
walk,  unblenching,  to  the  cannon's  mouth,  to  set  one's  self  against  the  popular 
voice,  and  confront  the  executive  power  that  sustains  and  enforces  it.  The  men  who 
have  heroically  dared  to  deny  the  right  of  tyrants  and  tyrant-governments  to  trample 
on  the  liberties  of  mankind,  and  freely  and  cheerfully  given  "  their  lives,  their  fortunes, 
and  their  sacred  honor,"  to  maintain  their  denial,  are  few  indeed  —  here  and  there 
one  in  a  generation.  In  that  bright  galaxy  of  names,  that  of  SIR  HENRY  VANE  shines 
as  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude. 

Sir  Henry  Vane,  eldest  son  to  Sir  Henry  Vane,  was  born  at  Hadlow,  in  Kent, 
England,  about  the  year  1612.  After  pursuing  a  course  of  studies  at  the  famous 
Westminster  school,  he  was  admitted,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  as  a  gentleman  com- 
moner at  Magdalen  Hall,  Oxford.  Of  his  life  prior  to  these  events  nothing  is  now 
known,  and  but  little  can  be  gathered  concerning  him  from  the  time  of  leaving  the 
university  to  his  emigration  to  New  England,  except  that  he  spent  a  year  or  two  in 
foreign  travel.  While  abroad,  he  spent  considerable  time  at  Geneva,  and  there 
imbibed  such  sentiments,  that  on  his  return  home  he  became  quite  obnoxious  to 


26  SIR    HENRY    VANE. 

both  his  father  and  the  court.  Finding  his  situation  at  home  an  uncomfortable  one, 
and  his  influence  being  feared  by  the  government,  "  he  was  permitted  to  depart  for 
New  England "  —  a  sort  of  expatriation  practised  upon  many  a  troublesome  and 
influential  patriot  of  those  times. 

In  August,  1635,  Vane,  with  a  dozen  or  more  others  of  the  same  dangerous  opin- 
ions, were  freighted  to  New  England  "  in  the  good  ship  Defiance,"  and  were  landed 
at  Boston  on  the  3d  of  October.  The  following  May,  Vane  was  chosen  governor 
of  the  colony,  "  which  election  was  congratulated,"  says  Hubbard,  "  with  a  volley  of 
shot  by  all  the  vessels  in  the  harbor."  It  was  a  compliment  of  no  mean  character  to 
Sir  Henry,  that  the  choice  should  have  fallen  on  him,  when  such  men  as  Winthrop, 
Endecott,  and  others,  were  his  colleagues.  His  administration  was  a  marked  one, 
and  in  the  divided  state  of  feeling  then  prevalent  in  the  colony,  begat  for  him  strong 
friends  and  most  bitter  enemies.  This  period  was,  doubtless,  the  most  difficult  one 
in  the  previous  history  of  the  colony.  Religious  dissensions  ran  high,  and  "  the 
church  was  sadly  torn  and  rent."  Mrs.  Hutchinson  and  her  party  sided  with  Gov- 
ernor Vane,  while  most  of  the  clergy  attached  themselves  to  the  side  of  Governor 
Winthrop.  It  was  in  Sir  Henry  Vane's  administration,  also,  that  the  dreadful  scenes 
of  the  Pequot  war  were  enacted,  and  when,  but  for  the  pacific  overtures  of  Roger 
Williams,  the  whole  New  England  colonies  would  have  been  annihilated. 

At  the  next  election  the  party  of  Vane  were  found  to  be  in  the  minority,  and 
Winthrop  came  into  the  succession.  Weary  of  his  office  and  New  England,  Gov- 
ernor Vane  returned  the  same  year  to  England,  and,  through  his  father's  influence, 
was  soon  invested  with  the  dignities  and  emoluments  of  offices  of  high  trust  and 
power.  He  became  singularly  mixed  up  with  the  exciting  and  bloody  scenes  ini 
which  Straffbrd  and  Charles  I.  lost  their  heads,  as  well  as  during  the  Protectorate 
and  the  Restoration.  Under  this  last  regime  he  was  impeached  for  "  compassing"  and 
imagining  the  death  of  the  king ;"  and  although  not  a  shadow  of  evidence  was  afford- 
ed to  support  that  charge,  he  was  condemned,  and  accordingly  beheaded,  on  the  14th 
of  June,  1662,  on  the  same  spot  where  Straffbrd  had  suffered.  His  conduct  during 
the  trial  and  execution  was  such  as  became  a  great  mind  and  a  Christian  spirit. 
He  disdained  to  make  submission,  although  promised  his  life. 

Sir  Henry  Vane  was  a  man  of  imposing  aspect,  and  he  won  the  respect  of  all 
around  him  by  his  dignified  and  easy  address. 


GOVERNOR    ENPECOTT. 

JOHN  ENDECOTT,  "THE  FATHER  OF  NEW  ENGLAND,"  as  he  has  been  called 
by  historians,  was  born  in  Dorchester,  Dorsetshire,  England,  in  the  year  1588. 
That  he  was  of  respectable  parentage,  that  he  had  a  good  education  and  a  refined 
mind,  that  he  was  at  one  time  a  surgeon,  as  well  as  captain  of  a  trainband,  seems  to 
be  about  all  that  is  known  of  his  life,  previous  to  his  connection  with  the  "  Massa- 
chusetts Company,"  who  settled  the  colony  first  at  Naumkeag,  or  Salem. 

Governor  Endecott  seems  to  have  embraced  Puritanism,  under  the  guidance  and 
through  the  influence  of  Rev.  Mr.  Skelton,  who  became  one  of  the  earliest  ministers 
of  the  colony,  and  between  whom  and  the  governor  the  most  affectionate  relations 
existed. 

In  1628,  Governor  Endecott,  in  company  with  other  influential  men,  purchased  a 
grant  from  the  "  Plymouth  Council  in  England  "  for  the  settlement  of  the  "  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,"  and  in  June  of  that  year  came  over  and  took  possession  of  the  same, 
Endecott  having  received  the  appointment  of  governor  of  the  colony.  The  model 
of  the  government  was  formed  in  England,  and  consisted  of  a  governor  and  twelve 
persons,  styled  "  THE  GOVERNOR  AND  COUNCIL  OF  LONDON'S  PLANTATION  IN  THE 
MASSACHUSETTS  BAY  IN  NEW  ENGLAND." 

None  but  stern  men,  moved  by  a  high  religious  purpose  and  sustained  by  a 

3 


28  JOHN    ENDECOTT. 

martyr  spirit,  could  have  borne  "  the  slings  and  arrows  of  outrageous  fortune  "  which 
their  new  residence  invited.  Disease,  famine,  suffering,  hardship,  and  death  filled 
the  measure  of  their  choice,  and  yet  they  shrunk  not  at  the  trial,  nor  withdrew  their 
hand  from  the  lot  that  had  fallen  to  them.  In  a  word,  these  men  were  Puritans, — 
only  the  synonyme  for  endurance,  —  they  gloried  in  the  cross  as  their  crown.  And 
among  this  band  of  hardy  and  pious  men,  Endecott  was  an  "  ensample  to  the  flock." 
In  all  their  trials,  they  looked  to  him  for  counsel  and  direction,  and  they  found  him 
always  equal  to  the  emergency.  Bereaved  of  the  wife  of  his  bosom,  whom  he  dearly 
loved,  he  moved  among  the  sick  and  suffering,  administering  comfort  with  his  own 
hand,  and  imparting  courage  by  the  example  of  his  own  energy  and  lofty  endurance. 

Governor  Endecott  was  a  strict  disciplinarian.  He  could  not  wink  at  any  flagrant 
violation  of  the  laws.  At  Mount  Wollaston,  Dorchester,  one  Morton,  notorious  for 
his  latitudinarianism  and  contempt  of  law  and  the  church,  had  collected  a  company 
of  men  of  a  similar  spirit  to  himself,  erected  a  May-pole,  and  christened  their  place 
Merry  Mount.  Their  unseemly  orgies  were  a  stench  in  the  nostrils  of  the  pious 
Endecott,  and  forthwith  he  went  therein  "  the  purifying  spirit  of  authority,"  (Morton 
having  been  just  before  sent  to  England  to  answer  to  the  charges  preferred  against 
him,)  cut  down  their  May-pole,  changed  the  name  of  the  place  to  Mount  Dagon, 
and  u  rebuked  the  inhabitants  for  their  profaneness,  and  admonished  them  to  look  to 
it  that  they  walked  better." 

In  the  summer  of  1630,  the  government  was  entirely  transferred  from  England  to 
the  colony,  and  John  Winthrop  was  chosen  governor,  who  administered  the  affairs 
of  the  company  in  the  same  spirit  that  had  governed  the  conduct  of  his  predecessor. 

Governor  Endecott  was  again  married,  on  the  18th  of  August,  1630,  to  Elizabeth 
Gibson,  of  Cambridge,  England,  who  came  over  with  Winthrop  in  the  Arabella. 

The  first  open  act  of  defiance  to  kingly  authority  of  which  we  have  any  record  in 
the  history  of  the  colony  was  performed  by  Governor  Endecott.  It  was  on  this  wise. 
He  cut  the  red  cross  from  the  king's  banner  with  his  sword,  and  declared  that  he 
would  never  recognize  such  a  relic  of  Popery.  It  was  a  direct  insult  to  the  king  and 
the  church  of  England,  and  would  have  probably  cost  him  his  head  had  not  the 
unfortunate  Charles  I.,  just  at  that  period,  been  entirely  occupied  with  the  storm 
which  had  already  burst  on  his  head,  and  which  eventually  overwhelmed  him  in 
ruin,  and  brought  him  to  the  block.  It  was  a  daring  exploit,  and  although  every  true 
Puritan  rejoiced  in  it,  yet  their  fear  of  the  throne  compelled  the  colony  to  take  notice 
of  the  a.ct%  an,d  to  enter  their  protest  against  it. 

Governor  Winthrop  died  in  1649 ;  and  from  that  time  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  on  the  15th  of  March,  1665,  at  the  age  of  seventy-seven  years,  Endecott 
held  the  office  of  governor,  with  the  exception  of  two  years,  when  he  was  elected 
deputy  governor.  This  was,  perhaps,  the  most  trying  time  in  the  early  history  of  the 
colony,  and  it  needed  that  a  man  of  great  energy  and  probity  should  be  at  the  head 
of  the  government.  During  his  administration,  Charles  I.  suffered  a  violent  death, 
Cromwell  usurped  the  government  of  England,  and  the  Stuarts  were  again  restored 
to  their  legitimate  authority.  In  every  emergency  and  difficulty  he  was  found  equal 
to  the  trial,  and  won  for  himself  the  respect  and  love  of  all  good  and  wise  men,  and  I 
when  «  he  fell  asleep  in  the  Lord,"  was  interred,  as  tradition  saith,  in  the  "  Chapel  I 
burying-ground,"  with  great  honor  and  solemnity.  It  is  a  blot  on  the  fair  fame  of 
Boston  that  "  no  stone  marks  the  resting-place  of  the  FATHER  OF  NEW  ENGLAND." 


REBECCA    RAWSON. 


THE  sober  history  of  New  England  has  been  written  many  times  over  by  men 
of  the  most  widely  differing  views,  tastes,  and  opinions.  There  is  no  lack  of 
material  out  of  which  to  form  a  pretty  just  estimate  of  the  acts  of  that  history,  and 
the  men  who  performed  them.  But  of  the  romance  of  our  colonial  existence,  little 
has  come  down  to  us.  Of  fiction,  we  have  had  enough.  We  have  thought  that  a 
considerable  volume  might  be  made,  filled  with  the  strange  and  romantic  scenes 
which  decorated  the  warp  and  woof  of  that  historic  web. 

REBECCA  RAWSON  was  the  sixth  daughter  and  ninth  child  of  Edward  Rawson 
"the  famous  secretary,"  who  traced  his  descent  from  Sir  Edward  Rawson,  "a 
doughty  knight  of  ancient  memory ."  She  was  born  in  Boston,  May  23,  1656,  and 
her  life  affords  material  for  as  romantic  a  tale  as  ever  adorned  the  pages  of  fiction. 
She  was  nursed  in  the  lap  of  luxury,  and  was  pronounced  to  be  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  accomplished  young  ladies  in  New  England.  "  Beautiful  and  vain," 
she  considered  herself  "  suitable  to  wed  a  lord."  An  impudent  knave  from  Eng- 
land, by  the  name  of  Ramsey,  possessed  of  a  pleasing  person  and  attractive  address, 
passed  himself  off  as  Sir  Thomas  Hale,  Jr.,  nephew  to  the  lord  chief  justice  of  that 


30  REBECCARAWSON. 

name,  and  as  such  paid  court  to  the  fair  Rebecca,  gained  her  consent,  and  "  in  pres- 
ence of  forty  witnesses,"  they  were  solemnly  married,  "  for  better  and  for  worse,"  by 
a  minister  of  the  gospel,  on  the  1st  of  July,  1679. 

She  was  "  handsomely  furnished,"  and  immediately  sailed  for  England,  with  her 
boxes  and  bundles,  and  her  lord,  her  vain  bosom  swelling  with  pictures  of  the  gay 
and  giddy  life  she  was  to  lead  at  court.  In  due  time  she  safely  arrived,  and  went 
on  shore  in  a  dishabille,  leaving  her  trunks  and  packages  to  be  sent  after  her.  Early 
the  next  morning,  her  "  lord "  took  the  keys,  and  told  her  he  would  send  up  the 
trunks  in  season  for  her  to  dress  for  dinner.  In  due  time  the  trunks  came,  but  with 
them  no  keys  and  no  husband.  After  waiting  until  a  late  hour,  with  the  greatest 
impatience,  she  had  the  trunks  opened  by  force,  and,  lo  !  not  an  article  of  any  value 
was  left  in  them.  He  had  decamped,  stripping  her  of  every  thing  but  the  dishabille 
in  which  she  was  attired.  In  an  inexpressible  astonishment,  she  ordered  a  carriage, 
and  drove  to  the  place  where  she  had  spent  the  night  before  with  her  husband,  and 
inquired  for  Sir  Thomas  Hale.  "  She  was  informed  that  he  had  not  been  there  for 
some  days.  She  was  sure  that  he  was  there  the  night  before.  In  reply,  she  was  told 
that  one  Thomas  Ramsey  was  there  the  night  before,  with  a  young  lady,  but  that  he 
had  gone  off  that  morning  to  Canterbury  to  see  his  wife  !  "  The  news  fell  on  her  ear 
like  a  thunderbolt,  and  crushed  her  hopes,  and  crushed  her  heart,  and  crushed  her 
pride.  She  never  saw  him  again. 

Alone,  abandoned,  betrayed,  ruined,  expecting  soon  to  become  a  mother,  with  no 
funds,  and  too  much  pride  to  apply  to  her  friends,  she  sought  a  humble  abode,  and 
with  the  aid  of  her  needle  and  pencil,  for  thirteen  long  years  supported  herself  and 
her  child  in  a  genteel  manner.  Yearning  at  length  to  see  her  friends,  she  left  her 
child  in  care  of  a  sister  who  had  come  to  England  to  reside,  and  embarked  for 
Boston,  by  way  of  Jamaica.  While  at  this  latter  port,  her  vessel  was  swallowed  up 
by  an  earthquake  ;  and  thus  tragically  ended  her  eventful  and  melancholy  life. 


PENELOPE    WINSLOW. 


ONE  of  the  most  mortifying  reflections,  in  connection  with  New  England  history, 
is  the  fact,  that  so  little  is  known  of  the  lives  and  characters  of  the  mothers  and 
wives  of  those  eminent  men  who  founded  our  institutions,  and  framed  and  adminis- 
tered our  early  laws.  Unhappy  mistake,  which  supposes  that  the  history  of  a  nation 
is  complete  when  its  public  acts  are  recorded,  and  the  biographies  of  its  eminent  men 
are  written.  The  influence  of  woman  on  the  character  and  growth  of  a  nation  is 
universally  confessed.  How  would  the  present  race,  sons  of  the  Pilgrims,  love  to  be 
able  to  look  into  the  record  of  those  HOMES  where  such  Anaks  were  born,  and 
study  the  quiet  virtues  of  the  brave  dames  which  bare,  and  the  gentle  sisters  who 
held  their  magic  thrall  over,  those  sturdy  sons  and  brothers  ! 

The  men  that  knelt  on  the  deck  of  that  emigrant  ship  at  Delft  Haven,  when  the 
godly  and  gifted  Robinson  "  lifted  up  his  voice  and  wept "  his  prayer  for  a  prosper- 
ous voyage  to  the  bleak  shores  of  New  England,  held  no  more  in  their  strong  hearts 
the  destinies  of  the  new  world,  than  those  gentler  ones  who  bowed  in  holy  trust  and 
wondrous  fortitude  by  their  side.  And  yet  the  record  of  their  bosoms  and  their  lives 
is  lost,  and  scarce  a  trace  can  now  be  discovered.  Arid  of  them  all  not  a  portrait  is 


32  PENELOPE    WINSLOW 

to  be  found,  whereby  we  might  refresh  our  imaginings  of  their  persons  or  their 
virtues. 

The  portrait  of  the  wife  of  Governor  Josiah  Winslow  (and  of  which  we  have  been 
kindly  permitted  to  take  the  above  copy)  is  the  only  one  that  can  be  found,  as  far  as 
we  can  learn,  of  any  woman  prior  to  1650-60.  It  represents  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  as  young  and  comely,  and  "  dressed  with  grace  and  great  becomingness." 

MRS.  PENELOPE  WINSLOW  was  the  daughter  of  Herbert  Pelham,  Esq.,  an  Eng- 
lish gentleman  of  considerable  distinction.  He  was  among  the  first  to  feel  and 
express  an  interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  new  and  struggling  colony  at  Plymouth,  and 
contributed  liberally  towards  its  support.  He  never  made  New  England  his  home? 
barely  visiting  it  in  1637.  His  daughter,  it  appears,  enthralled  by  the  handsome 
and  fascinating  son  of  the  elder  Winslow,  did  not  scruple  to  forego  the  refinements 
of  her  English  home  for  the  more  republican  one  of  the  gallant  captain,  to  whom  she 
gave  her  hand.  The  date  of  the  marriage  we  have  been  unable  to  ascertain,  but  it 
is  supposed  to  be  in  1657. 

Mrs.  Winslow  is  represented  as  a  woman  of  exceeding  beauty,  and  extremely 
fascinating  in  her  manners.  She  was  very  accomplished  for  the  age  in  which  she 
lived,  and  presided  at  her  husband's  board  with  great  dignity  and  urbanity.  When 
we  take  into  consideration  that  her  husband  acquired  the  distinction  of  being  the 
handsomest  and  most  polite  man  of  New  England,  we  can  readily  conceive  how 
recherche  must  have  been  those  weekly  reunions  in  the  drawing  rooms  of  Careswell, 
where  the  beauty,  and  wit,  and  talent  of  the  colony  were  assembled,  and  where  taste 
and  money  were  lavished  to  make  them  brilliant  and  delightful. 

Mrs.  Winslow  bore  her  husband  four  children, — two  sons  and  two  daughters, — 
and  survived  him  twenty -three  years.  She  died  at  "  Careswell,"  Marshfield, 
December  7,  1703,  in  the  seventy-fourth  year  of  her  age. 


WILLIAM    PENN. 


PT1HIS  very  gifted  and  singular  man,  the  founder  of  the  state  which  bears  his 
JL  name,  was  born  in  London,  October  14,  1644.  Before  he  was  fifteen  he  entered 
Oxford,  and  was  converted  to  Quakerism  by  the  eloquence  of  an  itinerant  preacher 
of  that  sect,  and  expelled  from  college  for  nonconformity  before  he  was  sixteen. 
Honest  in  his  convictions  and  sturdy  in  adhering  to  them,  neither  the  expostulations 
of  his  friends,  the  discipline  of  his  father,  nor  the  threats  of  the  church  could  shake 
his  faith  in  his  purpose.  He  studied  law  in  Lincoln's  Inn  until  the  year  1665,  when, 
the  plague  breaking  out  in  his  native  city,  he  went  to  Ireland  to  manage  an  estate 
for  his  father.  Here  he  joined  himself  to  a  fraternity  of  Quakers,  in  consequence  of 
which  he  was  recalled.  He  was  so  persistent  in  his  adherence  to  the  habits  and 
dogmas  of  his  sect,  that  his  father  banished  him  from  his  house,  and  he  commenced 
the  life  of  an  itinerant,  and  was  very  successful  in  gaining  proselytes  to  his  sect. 
He  was  exceedingly  obnoxious  to  the  government,  and  was  several  times  fined  and 
imprisoned — but  nothing  intimidated  him.  Even  in  prison  he  wrote  and  published 
books,  and  sent  them  forth  into  the  world. 

On  the  death  of  his  father,  a  large  estate  fell  to  his  possession  ;  but  he  continued  to 


3A  WILLIAM    PENN. 

write,  and  travel,  and  preach  as  before.  The  crown  owing  large  debts  to  the  estate, 
Penn  asked  and  obtained,  in  1681,  a  charter  of  Pennsylvania,  where  a  colony  was 
soon  planted,  and  he  himself  arrived  there  the  following  year.  Feeling  that  he  had 
no  moral  claim  to  the  soil,  he  negotiated  with  the  Indians  who  occupied  it,  and  pur- 
chased it  of  them  at  a  price  perfectly  satisfactory  to  them.  He  established  the  capi- 
tal, and  named  it  Philadelphia ;  drew  up  a  code  of  laws  for  his  growing  colony,  or- 
daining a  perfect  toleration  of  religious  opinion,  and  returned  to  England  in  1684,  to 
exert  his  influence  in  favor  of  his  suffering  brethren  there,  who  were  exposed  to  all 
the  rigors  of  an  unrelenting  persecution.  His  earnest  and  honest  eloquence  was  not 
unsuccessful,  and  he  had  the  pleasure  to  know  that  he  was  the  instrument  of  deliv- 
erance of  more  than  thirteen  hundred  of  his  brethren  who  had  been  cast  into  prison 
for  their  heresy.  So  malignant  were  his  enemies  that  they  succeeded  in  casting  him 
into  prison  on  the  charge  of  Papacy.  He  succeeded,  however,  in  obtaining  his  free- 
dom, and  returned  once  more  to  America,  when  he  revised  his  code  of  laws,  made 
some  alterations  in  the  form  of  government,  at  the  same  time  travelling  through  the 
country,  preaching  and  writing  on  the  subject  which  was  nearest  his  heart.  In  1700, 
he  sailed  again  for  England,  where  he  resumed  his  favorite  pursuits,  arid  continued 
there  until  1712,  when  paralysis  put  a  stop  to  his  active  life.  He  lingered  under  this 
disease  until  1718,  when  he  was  called  to  his  reward  on  high. 

William  Penn  was  a  rare  character.  "'He  combined  gentleness  and  dignity  in 
an  eminent  degree,  sometimes  extremely  facetious,  at  others  grave  and  severe  ;  of  an 
extraordinary  greatness  of  mind,  yet  without  ambition."  His  intercourse  with  the 
Indians  was  void  of  treachery,  and  he  won  their  confidence  to  an  unlimited  degree. 
He  overcame  them  with  gentleness  and  truth,  and  conquered  them  without  spilling 
their  blood  or  violating  their  homes. 

Penn  was  a  laborer  in  the  vineyard  of  his  Master.  Besides  travelling  and  preach- 
ing constantly,  he  superintended  all  the  affairs  of  his  colony,  and  wrote  innumerable 
tracts  and  quite  a  number  of  books  of  considerable  pretension,  among  which  were 
the  following:  "  No  Cross  no  Crown,  or  several  sober  Reasons '  against  Hat  Honor, 
Titular  Respects,  '  You '  to  a  single  Person,  &c.,  &c.,"  4to.,  1659 ;  "  Serious  Apolo- 
gy for  the  People  called  Quakers,  against  Dr.  Jeremy  Taylor,"  4to.,  1669  ;  "  The 
Spirit  of  Truth  vindicated,  in  Answer  to  a  Socinian,"  4to.,  1672  ;  «  Quakerism  a 
new  Nickname  for  old  Christianity,"  8vo.,  1672 ;  "  Reason  versus  Railing,  and 
Truth  versus  Fiction,"  8vo.,  1673  ;  "  The  Christian  Quaker  and  his  divine  Testimo- 
ny vindicated,"  folio,  1674. 

Few  men  have  lived  whose  efforts,  through  a  long  life,  have  been  so  productive 
of  good,  and  so  free  from  evil.  When  the  prophecy  of  the  angels,  at  the  advent  of 
the  Messiah,  shall  become  a  fulfilment,  and  "  peace  on  earth  "  shall  no  longer  be  the 
ideal  of  the  SEER,  then  shall  the  name  of  PENN  be  written  high  on  "the  scroll  of 
heaven,"  and  angels  shall  do  homage  to  it. 


COTTON    MATHER. 


eminent   divine  was  born  in    Boston  on  the   12th   of  February,  1662-3. 
JL    After   availing   himself  of  the    advantages  of  the  free   schools   of  his    native 
town,    he    entered  Harvard  College,  where  he  was   graduated  at  the  early  age  of 
sixteen.     Before  he  was  nineteen,  he  received  the  degree  of  M.  A. 

Dr.  Mather  would  have  ranked  high  as  a  scholar,  at  the  present  day,  and  in 
the  times  in  which  he  lived  was  considered  a  prodigy  of  learning.  Wonderfully 
precocious,  and  possessed  of  a  powerful  memory,  he  gathered  up  knowledge  with 
the  greed  a  miser  exhibits  in  amassing  gold.  He  became  the  greatest  linguist  of 
the  age,  and  wrote  more  books  than  any  other  man.  He  became  known  through- 
out Europe  as  well  as  his  native  country,  and  was  in  constant  correspondence 
with  the  learned  men  of  the  world.  In  forty-one  years,  he  wrote  and  published 
two  hundred  and  eighty-three  books,  averaging  nearly  seven  books  to  each  year. 
His  "Magnalia"  was,  without  doubt,  the  most  remarkable  of  his  productions, 
and  the  one  that  is  inseparably  connected  with  his  name.  He  was  a  firm  believer 
in  witchcraft,  never  doubting  but  that  it  was  the  immediate  handiwork  of  the 
Father  of  lies.  Perhaps,  had  he  lived  in  these  days,  he  would  have  been  a  full 
convert  to  mesmerism  and  spiritual  rappings. 


33  COTTON    MATHER. 

In  1684,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-two,  he  was  ordained  as  colleague  with  his 
father,  Rev.  Increase  Mather,  D.  D.,  and  two  years  afterwards,  commenced  his 
authorship,  his  first  publication  being  "  A  Sermon  to  the  Artillery  Company  in 
Middlesex."  He  was  married  about  this  time,  and  losing  his  wife  in  1702,  he 
married  again,  in  less  than  a  year,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Hubbard.  His  son,  Samuel 
Mather,  M.  A.,  thus  speaks  of  this  excellent  lady  :  "  She  was  a  woman  of  good 
sense,  and  blessed  with  a  complete  discretion,  with  a  very  handsome,  engaging 
countenance  ;  and  one  honorably  descended  and  related.  He  rejoiced  in  her  as 
having1  great  spoil"  It  was  his  misfortune  to  follow  to  the  grave,  also,  this  ines- 
timable woman,  who  had  borne  him  six  children,  his  first  wife  having  blessed  him 
with  nine.  He  married  yet  once  more,  but  there  was  no  issue  from  this  third 
union.  He  died  on  the  13th  of  February,  1727—8,  just  sixty-five  years  of  age. 

Dr.  Mather  was  a  very  fluent  writer.  He  wrote  with  great  ease  out  of  the 
furnishing  of  his  own  mind,  and  in  an  off-hand  style,  which  shows  the  ready  and 
the  careless  writer.  Consequently,  his  numerous  works  are  destined  to  be  forgotten 
by  posterity,  with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  his  "  Magnalia." 

In  1710,  he  published  "  An  Essay  upon  the  Good  to  be  devised  by  those  who 
would  answer  the  great  End  of  Life."  It  was  full  of  sound  maxims  of  life,  and 
has  been  rendered  somewhat  famous  by  the  notice  taken  of  it  by  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin, who  was  well  acquainted  with  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  when^the  former 
was  a  quite  young  man.  When  Franklin  became  an  old  man,  and  Dr.  Mather 
slumbered  with  his  fathers,  he  writes  thus  to  Samuel,  son  of  Cotton  Mather,  of  a 
little  incident  in  their  lives  which  has  become  known  wherever  books  are  read, 
through  the  inimitably  practical  turn  given  to  it  by  Franklin  :  — 

"  You  mention  being  in  your  seventy-fifth  year ;  I  am  in  my  seventy-ninth. 
We  are  grown  old  together.  It  is  now  more  than  sixty  years  since  I  left  Boston, 
but  I  well  remember  both  your  father  and  your  grandfather ;  having  heard  them 
both  in  the  pulpit,  and  seen  them  at  their  houses.  The  last  time  I  saw  your  father, 
was  in  the  beginning  of  1724,  when  I  visited  him  after  my  first  trip  to  Pennsylvania. 
He  received  me  in  his  library,  and  on  my  taking  leave,  showed  me  a  shorter  way 
out  of  the  house  through  a  narrow  passage,  which  was  crossed  by  a  beam  over- 
head. We  were  still  talking  as  I  withdrew,  he  accompanying  me  behind,  and  I 
turning  partly  towards  him,  when  he  said  hastily,  *  Stoop  /  stoop  !  '  I  did  not  under- 
stand him  until  I  felt  my  head  hit  against  the  beam.  He  was  a  man  that  never 
missed  an  occasion  of  giving  instruction,  and  upon  this  he  said  to  me,  '  You  are 
young,  and  have  the  world  before  you ;  stoop  as  you  go  through  it,  and  you  will 
escape  many  hard  thumps?  This  advice,  thus  beat  into  my  head,  has  frequently 
been  of  use  to  me,  and  I  often  think  of  it  when  I  see  pride  mortified,  and  misfor- 
tunes brought  upon  people  by  their  carrying  their  heads  too  high." 


SIR    MARTIN    FROBJSHER. 


TIIHE  world  is  indebted  for  all  its  valuable  knowledge  to  a  few  hopeful  and  in- 
JL  domitable  spirits,  who,  in  their  day  and  generation,  were  the  objects  of  much 
ridicule  and  persecution  —  the  "  knights  de  la  Mancha  "  of  the  age  they  lived  in.  It 
is  a  blessed  consideration,  that  satire  and  contempt,  persecution  and  stripes,  only 
stimulate,  not  imprison,  true  genius.  Faith  is  an  essential  element  of  genius.  By 
its  aid  it  penetrates  all  mists,  reaches  all  heights,  compasses  all  possibilities,  and 
predicates  the  true,  which  the  eyes  of  the  million  see  not,  and  the  lips  of  the  million 
deny.  "  Wisdom  is  hidden  with  the  few." 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  a  seer,  and  foretold  somewhat  that  has  come  to 
pass.  He  also  rendered  very  important  service  to  the  world  by  his  various  voyages 
of  discovery  along  the  shores  of  the  western  hemisphere,  as  we  shall  see. 

It  is  matter  of  much  regret  that  the  early  history  of  most  of  these  ancient  navigators 
is  so  obscure  and  uncertain.  It  is  often  difficult  to  say,  with  any  preciseness,  where 
or  when  they  were  born  ;  and  the  record  of  their  death  is  often  no  more  than  that  of 
their  birth.  From  what  we  can  discover,  it  seems  that  SIR  MARTIN  FROBISHER  was 
born  near  Doncaster,  England,  about  1536,  and  that  he  commenced  his  voyages  of 
discovery  about  1576,  or  at  the  age  of  forty.  He  must  have  become  interested  in 


38  SIR    MARTIN    FROBISHER. 

these   matters  very  young,  for  the  celebrated  chronicler,  Hakluyt,  tells  us  that  "  he 
had  been  fifteen  years  on  this  enterprise  before  he  was  able  to  set  out  on  it."     Not 
only  Hakluyt,  but  Carnden,  Stow,  and   Speed  have  briefly  noticed  the  voyages  of 
Frobisher.     We  shall  transcribe  what  Stow  says  of  him,  entire ;  for,  meagre  as  it  isj 
it  seems  to  embrace  all  that  is  known  of  him. 

"  Martin  Frobusher,  borne  neere  Doncaster,  in  Yorkeshire,  in  his  youth  gaue  him- 
selfe  to  Nauigation,  he  was  the  first  Englishman  that  discoured  the  North  way  to 
China,  and  Cathay,  and  at  his  first  discourie  of  the  way  to  Cathay  at  which  time  for 
tryall  of  what  he  could  find  there,  brought  thence  a  black  soft  stone  like  sea  coale, 
supposed  to  be  gold,  or  siluer  Oare,  &  in  that  perswasion  made  two  seuerall  voyages 
againe  to  Cathaye,  bringing  with  them  great  quantitie  of  the  sayd  supposed  Oare, I 
the  which  after  due  tryall  &  much  expence  prooued  not  worth  any  thing,  neither  fit- 
for  any  vse,  a  great  quantity  of  which  stuffe  was  layed  in  the  nursery  at  Darford,  no ; 
man  regarding  it,  he  was  vice-admirall  to  Sir  Francis  Drake,  at  the  winning  of  Saint 
Domingo,  Saint  lago,  Carthagena,  and  Saint  Augustino. 

"  Hee  did  great  seruice  in  the  yeere  one  thousand  fiue  hundred  eightie  and  eight,-* 
vpon  the  inuincible  Spanish  Armado,  for  which  he  was  Knighted,  after  that  hee  wal 
General  of  tenne  ships,  to  keepe  Brest-hauen  in  Britaine,  where  the  Spaniardes  neerJ 
thereunto  had  strongly  fortified  themselues,  in  whose  extirpation  he  did  speciall  serl 
uice  by  Sea  and  Land,  and  was  there  shotte  into  the  side  with  a  Musket,  the  wounde: 
not  mortall,  he  liued  vntill  hee  came  to  Plimmouth,  through  the  negligence  of  hisj 
surgeon  that  onely  tooke  out  the  Bullet,  not  sufficiently  searched  the  Wound,  to  take 
out  the  Bombaste  strucke  in  with  the  shotte  the  sore  festered,  whereof  he  dyed,  & 
was  buried  in  Plimmouth,  he  was  very  valiant,  yet  harsh  &  violent." 

The  account  of  Speed  is  still  more  brief,  arid  is  as  follows :  — 

"  For  the  searching  and  vnsatisfi.ed  spirits  of  the  English,  to  the  great  glory  of  oul 
Nation,  could  not  be  contained  within  the  bankes  of  the  Mediterranean  or  Leuanm 
Seas,  but  that  they  passed  farre,  towards  both  the  Articke  and  Antarticke  Poles,  inl 
larging  their  trades  into  the  West  and  East  Indies :  to  the  search  of  whose  passage, 
that  worthy  Sea-Captaine  Sir  Martin  Furbusher,  made  Saile  into  the  North-East" 
Seas,  farre  further  then  any  man  before  him  had  euer  done,  giuing  to  these  parts  the 
name  of  Queene  Elizabeths  Foreland. 

"  The  next  yeere  hee  attempted  thirty  leagues  further,  when  finding  Gold  Ore 
was  thought)  and  taking  a  man,  woman,  and  child,  of  the  Sauage  Catayes,  he 
turned  into  England;  but  as  his  gold  prooued  drosse,  so  these  liued  not  long,  neith* 
turned  that  discouery  to  any  great  profit,  though  it  was  againe  the  third  time  assaie 
by  himself,  and  since  by  other  most  famous  Nauigators,  the  Northwest  by  Englishmi 
being  lately  descried,  to  bee  Seas  more  safe,  and  the  passage  of  farre  better  hope." 

Sir  Martin  had  the  entire  confidence  of  Elizabeth,  and  for  his  gallant  deeds  in  the 
defence   of   her  kingdom  against  the  famous    Spanish  Armada,  was  honored  wrl 
knighthood. 


PAR  T     II. 


EMBRACING    THE    PERIOD    FROM    THE 


DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE, 


TO     THE 


WAR    OF    1812    WITH    ENGLAND. 


GEORGE    WASHINGTON. 

IT  is  easy  to  find  a  great  hero,  a  great  statesman,  a  great  patriot,  or  a  great  saint; 
but  we  rarely  see  heroism,  statesmanship,  patriotism,  and  religion  combining  to 
make  A  MAN.  Providence  seems  for  once  to  have  been  profuse  in  her  gifts  to  the 
great  and  good  WASHINGTON.  Brilliant  in  nothing,  exceeded  by  many  men  in  all 
that  marks  a  genius,  yet  he  stands  out  among  and  above  his  race  for  that  rare  com- 
bination of  all  that  is  excellent  in  the  character  of  a  man.  His  patriotism  was  as 
incorruptible  as  it  was  ardent,  and  a  lofty  rectitude  marks  every  small,  as  well  as 
every  great,  action  of  his  life.  He  was  a  man  to  be  loved  as  well  as  venerated,  and 
every  true  American  delights  to  accord  to  him  the  proud:  title  of  "  THE  FATHER  OF 
HIS  COUNTRY." 

He  was  born  in  Virginia,  in  1732.  The  common  schools  of  the  state  afforded  the 
only  opportunities  for  his  education,  and  the  study  of  mathematics  was  his  principal 
delight.  At  the  age  of  nineteen,  he  received  an  appointment  in  the  army  writh  the 
title  of  major,  and  of  lieutenant  colonel  in  1754,  and  the  same  year  was  advanced  to 
a  colonelcy.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of  Burgesses  in  1759,  and  a 
delegate  to  the  first  Continental  Congress  in  1774.  In  that  day  of  great  peril,  when 
the  Congress  had  done  what  they  could  to  raise  "  that  glorious  old  continental  army," 


4:2  GEORGE    WASHINGTON. 

all  eyes  were  turned  to  Washington  as  its  leader,  and  he  was  unanimously  appointed' 
its  commander-in-chief,  where  his  prudence  and  firmness,  his  bravery  and  wisdom, 
were  the  admiration  of  all  calm  and  wise  men,  and  brought  order  out  of  discord, 
and  triumph  out  of  difficulty. 

In  May,  1787,  that  celebrated  convention  met  at  Philadelphia  for  the  purpose  of 
forming  a  constitution,  over  which  Washington  was  called  to  preside,  and  the  result 
of  which  was  that  admirable  instrument  which  has  ever  since  been  the  law  of  the 
nation.  And  when,  after  being  adopted  by  the  states,  it  became  necessary  to  fulfil 
its  first  requisition,  namely,  the  election  of  the  first  President  of  the  United  States, 
no  other  man  was  thought  of  but  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  and  he  was  unanimously 
chosen  to  that  office.  He  was,  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  his  country,  called  to  serve 
a  second  term,  and  was  again  inaugurated  on  the  4th  of  March,  1793. 

During  the  administration  of  his  successor,  the  elder  Adams,  when  war  seemed 
inevitable  between  France  and  the  United  States,  Washington  was  again  called 
from  his  retirement,  and  appointed  commander-in-chief  of  the  American  forces. 
Fortunately  his  valuable  services  were  required  but  for  a  brief  period,  and  never  in 
actual  conflict ;  and  he  once  more  retired  to  the  shades  of  Mount  Vernon  ;  from 
which,  to  his  higher  reward,  Providence  saw  fit  to  call  him  the  succeeding  year. 
He  died  December  14,  1799,  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight,  and  was  buried  at  Mount 
Vernon,  amidst  the  grateful  tears  of  his  countrymen. 

The  patriotism  of  Washington  was  most  severely  tested;  but  nothing  could  shake 
it  in  the  heart  of  the  man  who  peremptorily  declined  any  kind  of  compensation  at 
the  hands  of  Congress  for  the  inestimable  services  he  had  rendered  to  his  country. 
In  the  dark  and  stormy  period  of  1775—6,  when  the  hopes  of  many  brave  patriots 
almost  died  out  of  their  bosoms ;  when  the  public  faith  was  weak  in  the  stability  of 
our  institutions ;  when  Congress  seemed  paralyzed,  and  all  spirits  gathered  fear,  — 
many  of  the  officers  of  his  army,  believing  that  if  the  power  were  placed  in  the  hands 
of  one  man,  and  that  man  WASHINGTON,  the  country  might  yet  be  saved,  through 
one  of  their  number,  proposed  to  him,  in  a  written  communication,  that  he  should 
consent  to  be  made  KING,  as  the  only  hope  yet  left  to  the  country. 

Washington's  reply  to  this  proposition  is  worthy  of  all  praise.  "  With  a  mixture 
of  great  surprise  and  astonishment,"  he  writes,  "  I  have  read  with  attention  the  sen- 
timents you  have  submitted  to  my  perusal.  Be  assured,  sir,  no  occurrence  in  the 
course  of  the  war  has  given  me  more  painful  sensations  than  your  information  of 
there  being  such  ideas  existing  in  the  army  as  you  have  expressed,  and  I  must  view 
with  abhorrence  and  reprehend  with  severity.  .  .  .  Let  me  conjure  you,  then,  if 
you  have  any  regard  for  your  country,  concern  for  yourself  or  posterity,  or  respect  for 
me,  to  banish  these  thoughts  from  your  mind,  and  never  communicate,  as  from 
yourself  or  any  one  else,  a  sentiment  of  a  like  nature." 

It  was,  however,  the  pure  and  rational  spirit  of  PIETY  which  gilds  with  a  charm 
the  whole  character  of  Washington.  His  consistent  recognition  of  Providence ;  his 
unfaltering  faith  in  the  rectitude  of  the  great  object  which  inspired  his  breast  and 
the  breasts  of  his  countrymen  ;  his  invincible  repugnance  to  deceit  or  treachery  in  any 
form  ;  his  untarnished  honesty  in  all  he  said  and  did  through  life,  —  these  form  a  halo 
of  glory,  which  adds  beauty  and  symmetry  to  his  character,  and  marks  "  THE 
PERFECT  MAN  AND  THE  UPRIGH*T." 


BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN. 

ON  a  raw,  cold  morning  in  October,  1723,  might  have  been  seen  strolling  along 
Chestnut  Street,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  an  awkward,  green-looking  lad,  of 
about  seventeen  years  of  age,  dirty  and  ill  dressed,  with  his  pockets  stuffed  out  with 
various  articles  of  his  scanty  wardrobe,  a  roll  of  bread  under  each  arm  and  another 
in  his  hand,  which  from  time  to  time  he  munched,  as  he  stared  at  the  various  objects 
which  attracted  his  attention. 

In  1778,  there  was  to  be  seen  moving  amidst  the  gay  and  richly-dressed  courtiers, 
ministers,  and  ambassadors  of  the  brilliant  court  of  the  King  of  France,  "  a  venerable 
man,  with  straight,  unpowdered  hair,  a  round  hat,  and  a  plain  brown  cloth  coat/' 
who  commanded  the  respect  of  all  around  him,  and  whose  acquaintance  was  sought, 
with  eagerness  by  civilians,  statesmen,  philosophers,  scholars,  and  kings  ;  a  man 
whose  fame  had  preceded  him  as  the  great  philosopher  and  statesman  of  that  age. 

That  friendless  and  destitute  stripling,  taking  his  breakfast  from  a  threepenny 
ioaf  in  the  open  streets  of  Philadelphia  on  a  chill  October  morning,  and  that  venera- 
ble man  to  whom  all  sought  to  render  honor  in  the  gay  court  of  Versailles,  were  one 
and  the  same  individual,  and  no  less  an  individual  than  the  world-wide  celebrated 
BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN.  4 


44  BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN. 

"  The  child  was  father  to  the  man  ; "  and  it  was  the  same  invincible  energy  and 
faith  which  had  brought  him  from  his  brother's  printing  office  in  Boston  to  the  then 
far  distant  streets  of  Philadelphia,  that  elevated  that  courageous  and  hopeful  stripling 
to  the  highest  honors  and  distinctions.  To  no  sudden  freak  of  fortune,  to  no  unex- 
pected turn  of  luck,  did  he  owe  his  wealth,  his  knowledge,  or  his  position.  No; 
round  by  round  did  he  ascend  the  ladder  of  his  greatness,  laboriously,  and  not  without 
<reat  perseverance.  He  has  shown  us  the  method  in  the  brief  memoir  of  himself 
which  he  has  given  to  the  world,  and  in  those  maxims  of  life  which  he  has  drawn 
up  for  the  young  and  the  old. 

Every  body  knows  his  history ;  and  we  propose  to  fill  our  allotted  space  with 
a  selection  of  those  wise  sayings  of  Dr.  Franklin  which  have  become  proverbs  in 
the  lips  of  the  world.  His  philosophy  was  eminently  of  the  practical  kind,  and  he 
illustrated  it  in  his  own  life. 

When  he  became  master  of  his  own  business,  and  set  up  shop  for  himself,  "  in 
order  to  secure  my  credit  and  character  as  a  tradesman,"  he  says,  in  the  biography 
he  has  given  of  himself,  "  I  took  care  not  only  to  be  really  industrious  and  frugal, 
but  to  avoid  the  appearances  to  the  contrary.  I  dressed  plain,  and  was  seen  at  no 
places  of  idle  diversion.  I  never  went  out  a  fishing  or  shooting.  A  book,  indeed, 
sometimes  debauched  me  from  my  work,  but  that  was  seldom,  was  private,  and 
gave  no  scandal ;  and,  to  show  that  I  was  not  above  my  business,  I  sometime? 
brought  home  the  paper  I  purchased  at  the  stores  through  the  streets  on  a  wheel- 
barrow. Thus  being  esteemed  an  industrious,  thriving  young  man,  and  paying 
duly  for  what  I  bought,  the  merchants  who  imported  stationery  solicited  my  custom, 
others  proposed  supplying  me  with  books,  and  I  went  on  prosperously." 

The  following  hints  are  from  his  "  Advice  to  a  Young  Tradesman,"  written  in 
1748:  — 

"  Remember  that  time  is  money.  He  that  can  earn  ten  shillings  per  day  by  his 
labor,  and  goes  abroad,  or  sits  idle  one  half  of  that  day,  though  he  spends  but  six- 
pence during  this  diversion  or  idleness,  ought  not  to  reckon  that  the  only  expense  ; 
he  has  really  spent,  or  rather  thrown  away,  five  shillings  besides. 

"  Remember  that  credit  is  money.  If  a  man  lets  money  lie  in  my  hands  after  it 
is  due,  he  gives  me  the  interest,  or  so  much  as  I  can  make  of  it  during  that  time. 
This  amounts  to  a  considerable  sum  when  a  man  has  a  good  and  large  credit,  and 
makes  good  use  of  it. 

"  Remember  that  money  can  beget  money,  and  its  offspring  can  beget  more,  and 
BO  on.  Five  shillings  turned  is  six;  turned  again,  it  is  seven  and  threepence;  and 
so  on,  until  it  becomes  a  hundred  pounds. 

"  The  most  trifling  actions  that  affect  a  man's  credit  are  to  be  regarded.  The 
sound  of  your  hammer  at  five  in  the  morning  or  nine  at  night,  heard  by  a  creditor, 
makes  him  easy  six  months  longer ;  but  if  he  sees  you  at  a  billiard  table,  or  hears 
your  voice  at  the  tavern,  when  you  should  be  at  work,  he  sends  for  his  money  the 
next  day. 

"  In  short,  the  way  to  wealth,  if  you  desire  it,  is  as  plain  as  the  way  to  market. 
It  depends  chiefly  on  two  words  —  industry  and  frugality ;  that  is,  waste  neither 
time  nor  money,  but  make  the  best  use  of  both." 


THOMAS    JEFFERSON. 


T  ARROW  minds  judge  of  men  by  the  party  badge  they  put  on  ;  enlarged  arid 
liberal  ones  by  the  temper  they  manifest,  and  the  actions  they  perform. 
Enough  that  a  man  belongs,  or  has  belonged,  to  one  or  the  other  of  the  great 
national-political  parties ;  he  is  a  had  man  in  the  eyes  of  all  small  men  in  the  oppo- 
site ranks.  To  discriminate  is  the  task  of  the  historian — the  duty  of  all. 

It  is  no  mean  tribute  to  the  worth  of  Jefferson  that  he  was  called  so  soon  to 
succeed  Washington  in  the  administration  of  the  new  government  of  the  United 
States ;  that  he  was  deemed  a  worthy  competitor  with  JOHN  ADAMS  for  that  high 
honor.  In  those  days  no  mean  man  could  have  entered  the  lists  with  the  slightest 
prospect  of  success. 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON  was  born  at  Shadwell,  Albemarle  county,  Virginia,  on  the 
2d  of  April,  1743.  He  took  his  degree  at  William  and  Mary's  College,  and  studied 
law  with  George  Wythe,  afterwards  chancellor  of  the  State  of  Virginia.  The  stern 
spirit  of  resistance  to  tyranny  which  manifested  itself  in  all  he  said  and  did,  during 
the  progress  of  the  Revolution,  exhibited  itself  very  early  in  life.  One  of  his  seals, 
while  in  college,  bore  the  following  motto  :  "  Ab  eo  libertas  a  quo  spiritus;"  another, 
"Resistance  to  tyrants  is  obedience  to  God."  He  strongly  sympathized  with  the 


46  THOMAS    JEFFERSON. 

spirit  of  freedom  in  the  colonies,  and,  in  1769,  signed  a  resolution  not  to  import  any 
articles  from  the  mother  country.  In  1772,  he  married,  but  lived  in  the  connubial 
state  only  ten  years,  when  death  took  from  him  his  truly  amiable  and  intelligent 
wife,  leaving  to  his  care  two  infant  daughters.  While  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Delegates,  in  1773,  he  advised  and  arranged  the  first  plan  of  regular  resistance  to 
British  aggression,  by  the  formation  of  committees  of  correspondence  in  the  different 
colonies.  He  took  his  seat  in  the  General  Colonial  Congress  on  the  21st  of  June, 
1775,  and  became  one  of  its  most  prominent  members.  In  the  following  year,  he 
was  appointed  chairman  of  that  immortal  committee  chosen  to  draw  up  a  Declara- 
tion of  Independence.  This  instrument  was  the  work  of  his  pen,  and  was  adopted 
on  the  4th  of  July,  1776. 

He  was  chosen  commissioner  to  the  court  of  France  with  Franklin  and  Deane, 
but  declined  the  honor.  He  also  resigned  his  seat  in  Congress,  and  was  immediately 
chosen  to  the  first  legislature  under  the  new  constitution  of  Virginia.  Here  he  turned 
all  the  powers  of  his  great  mind  to  the  revision  of  the  code  of  laws  then  existing, 
and  so  effectually  did  he  labor,  that  there  is  scarcely  a  section  of  the  present  code- 
that  is  not  the  result  of  his  action  expressed  in  his  own  words.  This  was  the  great 
act  of  his  life,  and  justly  entitles  him  to  the  respect  and  admiration  of  the  world. 

In  1779,  he  was  elected  governor  of  Virginia,  and  in  1783,  member  of  Congress 
from  his  native  state.  While  a  member  of  this  body,  Washington  resigned  his  com- 
mand of  the  army  and  retired  to  private  life.  Jefferson  was  the  author  of  the  elegant 
address  to  the  Father  of  his  Country  voted  on  that  occasion. 

In  1784,  Jefferson  went  as  minister  to  France,  where  for  five  years  his  talents  for 
diplomacy  were  often  tasked  to  the  utmost,  and  were  always  found  equal  to  the 
trial  ;  and  in  1789,  he  returned  to  the  United  States,  where  he  was  received  with 
many  marks  of  public  favor.  Washington  immediately  called  him  into  his  councils, 
and  he  received  the  appointment  of  Secretary  of  State.  His  great  statesmanship 
eminently  qualified  him  for  this  important  post.  He  immediately  set  himself  to  lay 
down  maxims  and  rules  of  foreign  intercourse  which  have  governed  all  our  subse- 
quent administrations.  In  1795,  he  was  called  to  the  chair  of  the  American  Philo- 
sophical Society,  and  was  the  third  president  of  that  institution ;  his  predecessors 
being  the  illustrious  Franklin  and  Rittenhouse,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  men  of 
his  times. 

In  March,  1801,  Mr.  Jefferson  was  inaugurated  as  third  President  of  the  United 
States,  with  Aaron  Burr  as  vice  president;  and  again,  in  1805,  with  George  Clinton  as 
vice  president.  That  the  administration  of  Mr.  Jefferson  was  an  able  one,  all  admit; 
and  we  have  no  desire  to  enter  into  a  consideration  —  even  had  we  room  —  of  the 
acrimonious  party  spirit  of  those  times  which  could  see  nothing  good  in  an  oppo- 
nent, nothing  wrong  in  a  friendly  partisan. 

Of  Mr.  Jefferson's  private  life,  it  is  enough  to  say  that  he  was  beloved  and  re- 
spected by  all  who  knew  him ;  and  his  death,  which  occurred  on  the  ever-glorious 
anniversary  of  the  declaration  of  independence  in  1826,  filled  his  country  with 
mourning. 


MARQUIS    DE    LA    FAYETTE. 

OF  all  the  heroes  who  enlisted  in  the  cause  of  American  freedom,  no  one  is 
more  deserving  of  our  gratitude  than  La  Fayette.  A  stranger  and  a  French- 
man,—  born  to  wealth  and  honors,  —  refusing  preferment  and  distinction  at  home, — 
at  his  own  expense  he  fitted  out  an  armament  for  the  relief  of  the  American  col- 
onies, when  their  cause  seemed  most  gloomy  and  despairing,  and  came  to  assist  us 
with  his  counsels,  purse,  and  troops.  Arriving  in  Charleston,  in  1777,  he  soon 
joined  the  army  with  a  major  general's  commission,  which  he  accepted  from 
Congress  only  on  the  conditions  that  he  should  be  allowed  to  serve  at  his 
own  expense,  and  be  permitted  to  enter  the  army  as  a  volunteer.  In  vain  the 
courts  of  London  and  Versailles  protested  against  his  expedition ;  in  vain  they 
attempted  to  intercept  his  passage  —  a  movement  as  brilliant  as  it  was  successful ; 
—  an  armed  force  was  sent  out  to  the  West  Indies  to  arrest  his  course  in  vain  ;  he 
eluded  all  pursuit,  reached  his  destination  in  safety,  with  "  Cur  non?"  flying  at  his 
mast  head  —  a  worthy  ensign  for  such  a  man. 

La  Fayette  was  then  but  twenty  years  of  age ;  but  his  judgment  was  so  profound, 
and  his  courage  so  cool,  that  the  prudent  and  sagacious  Washington  confided  to 
him  the  post  of  difficulty  and  of  danger,  and  never  found  his  confidence  misplaced. 
He  remained  in  America  two  years,  sharing  freely  in  all  the  hardships  of  our 


48  MARQUIS     DE    LA     FAYETTE. 

suffering  army,  and  returned  to  Paris, f  bearing  honorable  scars,  and  the  grateful 
thanks  of  all  the  colonists.  The  Continental  Congress  voted  him  a  sword  and 
thanks,  which  were  presented  by  Benjamin  Franklin.  He  remained  in  his  native 
land  two  years,  actively  engaged  in  the  affairs  of  his  government,  and  using  all 
his  influence,  in  conjunction  with  Franklin,  then  American  minister  to  the  court 
of  Versailles,  in  behalf  of  the  American  colonies.  He  soon  returned  to  the  field 
of  strife  in  America,  and  after  a  brilliant  campaign,  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the 
British  forces  compelled  to  surrender  at  Yorktown,  and  the  boastful  Cornwall^ 
give  up  his  sword  to  the  hero  Washington. 

Again  La  Fayette  received  the  thanks  of  Congress,  and  the  benisons  of  the  col- 
onies, and  was  sent  home  in  triumph  in  an  American  frigate.  The  following  year, 
he  paid  a  visit  to  the  United  States,  and  was  received  amidst  the  most  grateful  and 
expressive  manifestations  of  the  people  ;  his  progress  through  the  states  being  a  con- 
tinued fete.  He  was  received  by  Congress  with  great  ceremony,  and  Virginia  placed 
his  bust  in  her  capitol,  and  presented  one  of  a  similar  kind  to  the  city  of  Paris. 

On  his  return  to  France,  he  at  once  entered  upon  the  arena  of  political  strife. 
already  open  in  that  unhappy  country,  in  which  his  patriotism  and  love  of  liberty 
doomed  him  to  confiscation  and  prison,  and  nearly  to  loss  of  life.  Many  of  his 
family  laid  their  necks  beneath  the  keen  edge  of  the  guillotine  ;  others,  his  wife 
among  them,  were  shut  up  in  gloomy  dungeons.  At  length  the  dismal  hinges  of 
his  prison  doors  turned  once  more,  and  the  worn  and  weary  patriot  tasted  again 
the  free  air  of  heaven.  As  soon  as  it  was  known  that  he  was  free,  the  most  urgent 
invitations  were  sent  to  him  to  visit  the  United  States,  "  that  country  dear  to  his 
heart."  Congress,  in  the  most  honorable  manner,  seconded  this  voice  of  the  people, 
and  placed  the  seventy-four  gunship,  the  North  Carolina,  at  his  disposal.  Declining, 
however,  the  honor,  he  embarked  with  his  son  in  one  of  the  regular  packets,  the 
Cadmus,  and  reached  New  York  on  the  25th  of  August,  1824. 

Never  was  a  reception  so  imposing  and  so  spontaneous.  One  general  shout  of 
"  WELCOME  !  WELCOME  !  "  burst  from  all  lips,  prompted  by  every  heart.  The  gray- 
haired  men  and  women  who  lived  in  those  terrible  scenes  which  in  the  pride  of  his 
early  manhood  he  shared,  and  in  which  he  poured  out  his  gold  as  dust,  and  his 
blood  as  water,  clasped  his  knees  in  tearful  joy  ;  and  their  children,  now  grown 
themselves  to  lusty  sires  and  fair  dames,  swelled  the  paean  of  his  praise  with  such 
hosannas  as  only  a  ransomed  people  can  offer;  while  the  youth  and  children  gazed  in- 
silent  awe  on  the  "good  and  great  La  Fayette"  and  clapped  their  hands  and  opened 
their  throats  in  loud  and  long  huzzas.  From  city  to  city,  from  town  to  town,  from 
hamlet  to  hamlet,  through  the  entire  borders  of  the  land,  for  the  space  of  a  full 
year,  he  journeyed,  and  the  enthusiasm  abated  not  a  tittle.  Valley  and  hill  top 
echoed  with  his  beloved  name  ;  joy  and  thanks  rung  out  from  every  spire  and  boomed 
from  every  piece  of  ordnance  in  the  land.  It  was  a  spectacle  for  angels  to  smile 
upon,  and  patriots  to  rejoice  in  —  to  carry  paleness  to  the  brows  of  despots,  and  u  to 
make  the  devils  tremble." 

On  returning  to  his  native  land,  he  again  entered,  heart  and  soul,  into  the  great 
scenes  which  were  then  enacting  there,  always  pleading  for  liberty,  and  doing  what- 
ever lay  in  his  power  to  establish  it  in  the  bosom  of  his  country  —  suffering,  laboring, 
sacrificing,  praying  for  "  his  dear,  dear  France,"  until  June,  1834,  when  his  earthly 
struggle  closed,  and  he  opened  his  eyes  on  "the  glorious  freedom  of  the  sons  of  God." 


MAJOR    GENERAL    JOSEPH    WARREN. 


T  in  HIS  brave  revolutionary  patriot,  whose  blood  stains  the  soil  of  Bunker  Hill, 
-L  was  the  son  of  a  respectable  farmer  of  Roxbury.  He  was  born  in  174L 
entered  college  in  1755,  commenced  the  practice  of  medicine  in  1762,  in  1775 
received  the  appointment  of  major  general  in  the  continental  army,  and  the  same 
year,  on  the  ever-glorious  17th  of  June,  1775,  sealed  with  his  blood  the  protest  of 
freemen  against  the  usurpations  of  tyranny. 

Had  Warren  lived,  it  is  easy  to  perceive  that  he  would  have  been  among  the 
most  conspicuous  of  that  holy  band  who  pledged  "  their  lives,  their  fortunes,  and 
their  sacred  honor  "  to  the  cause  of  freedom  in  the  New  World.  Among  many  of 
his  manly  traits  of  character,  we  have  room  to  speak  only  of  his  indomitable 
courage.  He  not  only  knew  no  fear,  but  he  seemed  to  court  danger  for  the  very 
love  of  it,  as  the  following  anecdote  will  show:  — 

The  "Boston  Massacre"  took  place  on  the  5th  of  March,  1770.  Its  anniversary 
had  been  celebrated  by  an  oration  for  three  years.  The  British  residents  of  Boston 
had  become  incensed  at  the  free  spirit  in  which  that  bloody  act  was  discussed  in 
/hese  orations,  and  in  1775,  several  British  officers  openly  declared  that  it  should 
be  at  the  peril  of  his  life,  should  any  patriot  attempt  to  pronounce  an  oration  on 


50  MAJOR    GENERAL    JOSEPH    WARREN. 

the  coming  anniversary.  This  threat  roused  the  fiery  spirit  of  Warren,  and  although 
he  had  officiated  only  the  year  before,  he  requested  permission  to  assume  the  peril 
and  the  honor.  He  received  the  appointment,  and  notice  was  speedily  given  to 
that  effect.  Public  expectation  was  on  tiptoe,  and  on  the  day  appointed,  the  "  Old 
South  "  was  crammed  to  its  utmost  capacity.  A  large  number  of  British  officers 
were  present,  some  of  whom  occupied  the  pulpit  steps,  and  even  the  pulpit  itself. 
At  the  time  appointed,  it  was  found  impossible  to  penetrate  the  densely  packed 
masses  that  filled  the  aisles  and  doorways,  and  Warren,  with  his  friends,  was 
obliged  to  enter  through  the  pulpit  window  by  a  ladder.  The  officers  were  struck 
by  his  cool  intrepidity,  and  involuntarily  yielded  up  the  pulpit,  and  suffered  him  to 
assume  his  proper  place.  As  he  came  forward,  with  a  calm  brow  and  flashing  eye, 
he  appeared  the  very  impersonation  of  moral  courage  and  personal  bravery.  It 
was  a  moment  of  intensest  excitement.  Stillness  that  was  palpable  rested  on  all 
lips.  Many  a  heart  palpitated  with  wildest  enthusiasm,  and  many  ceased  to  beat, 
overwhelmed  by  the  grandeur  of  the  scene  ;  while  faces  pale  as  ashes  spoke  an 
intensity  of  emotion  which  mocked  the  poor  medium  of  words. 

When  he  opened  his  lips,  his  voice  was  firm  and  unfaltering,  while  its  deep  and 
almost  unearthly  tones  told  how  fully  the  spirit  was  stirred  within  him.  Soon  his 
voice  rose,  and  warming  with  his  theme,  in  tones  of  thunder  he  poured  out  the 
vials  of  his  wrath  upon  the  actors  in  the  bloody  tragedy  of  March  o,  1770;  and 
hurled  defiance  in  the  very  teeth  of  those  who,  but  a  few  hours  before,  had  threat- 
ened his  life,  but  who  were  now  awed  before  the  majesty  of  his  sublime  courage. 

It  was  the  same  unflinching  bravery  that  prompted  him,  although  holding  a 
major  general's  commission,  to  decline  the  proposition  of  the  veteran  Prescott  to 
take  the  command  of  that  sanguinary  field,  on  the  17th  of  June,  1775,  and  led  him 
to  assume  a  volunteer's  position  in  the  ranks,  where  he  fought,  musket  in  hand, 
until  the  battle  was  lost,  and  his  brave  compatriots  were  driven  from  the  ground. 
Even  then  he  was  among  the  very  last  to  quit  the  breastwork,  and  fell  only  a  few 
yards  from  it,  fighting  to  the  last. 

No  wonder  that  our  independence  was  achieved,  when  such  spirits  leagued  for  it. 
All  the  armies  of  the  earth  could  not  have  conquered  the  invincible  spirit  of 
freedom  that  reigned  in  such  bosoms.  What  a  boon  have  they  bequeathed  to  us  ! 
What  a  debt  of  gratitude  do  we  owe  to  their  blessed  memories ! 


ALEXANDER    HAMILTON. 


4  LEXANDER  HAMILTON  was  born  in  the  island  of  Nevis,  in  the  British 
-XX  West  Indies,  on  the  llth  of  January,  1757.  He  was  of  Scotch  blood  on  the 
paternal,  and  of  Gallic  on  the  maternal  side.  He  lost  his  mother  when  a  child,  and 
his  education  was  intrusted  to  a  Presbyterian  clergyman,  by  the  name  of  Knox,  of 
the  island  of  St.  Croix.  At  twelve  years  of  age,  he  was  placed  in  the  counting  room 
of  a  merchant  of  that  island,  where  his  talents  and  ambition  soon  displayed  them- 
selves. The  following  prophecy  of  the  future  man  is  from  a  letter  written  to  a 
fellow-clerk  before  he  was  thirteen:  "  I  contemn  the  grovelling  condition  of  a  clerk,  to 
which  my  fortune  condemns  me,  and  would  willingly  risk  my  life,  though  not  my  charac- 
ter, to  exalt  my  station ;  I  mean,  to  prepare  the  way  for  futurity." 

In  1772,  Hamilton  came  to  New  York,  and  at  the  close  of  1773,  entered  Columbia 
College,  where  he  made-"  extraordinary  displays  of  richness  of  genius  and  energy  of 
mind."  It  was  during  his  college  life  that  the  country  was  roused  to  the  consider- 
ation of  British  aggression  and  American  independence.  He  took  strong  and 
decided  revolutionary  grounds,  and  wrote  and  spoke  in  so  clear  and  forcible  a 
manner  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  wisest  minds  engaged  in  that  controversy. 
Dr.  Cooper,  principal  of  the  college,  and  several  others  of  the  ablest  tory  writers, 


52  ALEXANDER     HAMILTON. 

\vere  confounded  by  "the  profound  principles,  able  reasoning,  and  sound  policy"  of 
his  essays,  and  would  not  believe  that  they  were  the  productions  of  a  youth  of 
seventeen.  He  also  joined  a  volunteer  company  of  militia  while  in  college,  and 
made  himself  familiar  with  all  the  tactics  and  theory  of  war. 

In  1776,  Hamilton  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  a  company  of  artillery,  and 
from  that  time  up  to  1781,  he  was  in  constant,  active  service,  mostly  as  aid  to  the 
commander-in-chief.  In  that  capacity  he  won  the  admiration  and  love  of  all  his 
brother  officers,  and  became,  in  Washington's  own  words,  "his  principal  and  most 
confidential  aid."  General  Washington  intrusted  him  with  the  most  delicate  and 
difficult  diplomatic  duties,  and  with  nearly  all  his  important  correspondence.  He 
rendered  most  essential  aid,  by  his  advice  and  counsel,  in  restoring  the  confidence  of 
the  army,  and  improving  the  currency.  Indeed,  there  is  scarcely  a  plan  which  was 
adopted  by  Congress  during  the  administration  of  Washington  which  does  not 
bear  the  mark  of  his  mighty  genius. 

In  1780,  he  married  the  second  daughter  of  Major  General  Schuyler,  and  devoted 
his  attention  to  the  law.  He  rose  rapidly  in  his  profession,  and  soon  stood  at  the 
head  of  the  New  York  bar.  He  did  not,  however,  retire  from  the  arena  of  political 
strife,  and  in  1782,  took  his  seat  in  Congress,  where  his  genius  and  sound  common 
sense  were  speedily  felt,  and  "the  proceedings  of  Congress  immediately  assumed  a 
new  and  more  vigorous  tone  and  character."  Pie  retired  from  Congress  in  1783,  and 
assumed  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  New  York,  where  his  clear  mind  and  lucid 
eloquence  won  for  him  the  admiration  of  all. 

But  the  services  of  such  a  man  could  not  be  well  spared  by  the  country  at  such  a 
time.  In  1786,  he  was  sent  to  the  General  Assembly  of  New  York,  and  was  chosen 
by  that  body  one  of  the  three  New  York  delegates  to  the  General  Convention 
recommended  by  Congress  to  be  holden  in  Philadelphia,  in  May,  1787.  His  services 
as  a  member  of  that  august  body  were  exceedingly  valuable;  and  when,  on  the 
recommendation  of  the  convention,  the  constitution  was  presented  to  the  people  for 
their  adoption,  Hamilton,  in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Jay  and  Mr.  Madison,  commenced 
and  completed  that  series  of  essays,  composing  the  two  volumes  of  the  Federalist, 
as  profound  in  their  logic  as  they  are  brilliant  in  execution  and  patriotic  in  spirit, 
Of  these  eighty -five  papers,  Mr.  Jay  wrote  five,  Mr.  Madison  twenty,  and  Mr.  Ham- 
ilton the  balance. 

On  the  adoption  of  the  constitution,  Mr.  Hamilton  was  called  by  Washington  to 
the  head  of  the  Treasury  department,  where  for  five  years  he  exhibited  the  same  zeal 
and  fitness  for  office  that  had  always  marked  his  career. 

From  this  period  until  his  untimely  death  he  divided  his  time  between  the  duties 
of  his  profession  and  those  of  public  life,  awaking  general  admiration  by  the  bril- 
liancy of  his  talents,  and  winning  the  respect  and  esteem  of  all  by  his  many  amiable 
virtues. 

On  the  12th  of  July,  1804,  he  fell  in  mortal  combat  by  the  hand  of  Aaron  Burr, 
and  "  all  America  and  Europe  mourned  his  untimely  fate." 


SAMUEL    ADAMS. 


4  MONO  the  names  of  the  brave  band  of  patriots  who  first  offered  resistance  to 
JLJL  the  encroachments  of  British  power  on  the  liberties  of  the  English  colonies  in 
America,  none  is  more  reverently  and  affectionately  cherished  in  the  American  heart 
than  that  of  the  patriarch  SAMUEL  ADAMS.  None  bore  in  his  bosom  a  stouter  heart, 
and  none  raised  a  stronger  arm  to  resist  the  oppressor.  He  had  not  the  suaviter  in 
modo  of  Hancock,  his  compeer  and  fellow-laborer,  nor  the  genius  of  Hamilton  ;  but 
for  stern,  unbending  republicanism,  and  unflinching  devotion  to  the  cause  of  free- 
dom, none  exceeded  him.  With  a  sound  judgment  he  combined  unyielding  firm- 
ness of  will,  and  nothing  could  dislodge  him  from  the  strongholds  of  his  opinion. 
No  man  had  more  individuality  of  character,  and  no  seductions  or  bribes  from  friend 
or  foe  could  reach  his  integrity.  Governor  Hutchinson,  in  reply  to  the  question  from 
England,  why  the  friendship  of  Samuel  Adams  was  not  secured  by  the  gifts  of 
office,  replies,  "  Such  is  the  obstinacy  and  inflexible  disposition  of  the  man,  that  he  can 
never  be  conciliated  by  any  office  or  gift  whatever"  Yet  he  was  always  poor,  and 
was  by  no  means  a  stranger  to  necessity. 

Such  a  man  could  not  escape  the  favor  of  his  friends  and  the  notice  of  his  ene- 
mies. His  great  mental  powers  were  speedily  and  constantly  called  into  exercise  by 
*he  patriots,  while  his  contemptuous  spurning  of  British  bribes  of  gold  and  power 


54  SAMUEL    ADAMS 

awakened  the  bitterest  malice  of  his  and  America's  enemies.  His  name  was  a 
Shibboleth  to  the  struggling  colonists;  cherished,  loved,  and  uttered  by  them  with 
reverence  ;  while  with  their  oppressors  it  was  dreaded,  hated,  and  denounced.  When, 
seeking  to  conciliate  the  outraged  patriots,  a  general  amnesty  was  proposed  by  the 
colonial  government,  and  pardon  was  freely  offered  to  all  who  would  submit,  the 
names  of  Samuel  Adams  and  John  Hancock  were  excepted,  as  their  offences  were 
of  "  too  flagitious  a  character  to  admit  of  any  other  consideration  than  that  of  con- 
dign punishment."  "  Whom  the  gods  would  destroy  they  first  make  mad,"  runs  the 
old  proverb.  Probably  no  single  act  of  the  infamous  government  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  did  so  much  to  precipitate  the  events  of  the  Revolution  as  the  proscription  of 
these  noble  patriots;  and  what  was  intended  by  their  vindictive  enemies  to  "damn 
them  to  everlasting  fame,"  placed  on  their  brows  a  crown  of  glory  which  shall  for- 
ever outshine  the  brightest  diadem  worn  by  kingly  head. 

Samuel  Adams  was  born  in  Quincy,  Massachusetts,  September  27,  1722,  and  was 
graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1740,  at  eighteen  years  of  age;  and,  at  that  early 
period,  wrote  several  able  articles  in  favor  of  "  the  right  of  resisting  the  magistrates, 
if  the  liberties  of  the  commonwealth  cannot  be  otherwise  preserved  ;"  a  question  pre- 
pared by  himself  at  the  time  of  his  graduation.  On  quitting  college,  he  commenced 
the  study  of  the  law,  to  which  profession  his  father  designed  him  ;  but  maternal  in- 
fluence changed  his  purpose,  and  he  entered  into  commercial  pursuits,  where  the 
capital  which  had  been  provided  for  the  purpose  was  speedily  absorbed.  Trade, 
evidently,  was  not  his  forte ;  and  the  force  of  circumstances,  together  with  his  un- 
conquerable love  of  liberty,  soon  convinced  him  and  the  world  that  the  arena  of 
politics  was  his  natural  sphere. 

After  acting  in  many  capacities  as  the  servant  of  his  townspeople,  —  Mr.  Adams 
was  now  a  resident  of  Boston,  —  he  was,  in  1765,  elected  to  the  legislature,  of  which 
he  was  a  member  for  ten  years.  On  the  dissolution  of  the  old  charter,  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  Provincial  Convention;  and,  in  1774,  he  was  sent  to  the  General 
Congress,  where,  by  his  eloquence  and  burning  patriotism,  he  exerted  a  mighty  influ- 
ence in  behalf  of  independence.  On  the  adoption  of  the  new  constitution  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, he  was  elected  to  the  Senate ;  over  which  body  he  was  at  orice  called  to 
preside,  which  duty  he  performed  with  dignity  and  efficiency  for  several  years.  In 
1789,  he  was  chosen  lieutenant  governor,  and  on  the  death  of  his  great  compeer, 
Hancock,  in  1794,  he  succeeded  him  as  governor,  which  office  he  held  for  three  terms, 
when  he  retired  to  private  life.  He  did  not  live  long  to  enjoy  the  retirement  he  had 
so  much  coveted,  and  for  the  enjoyment  of  which  a  competency,  falling  to  him  late 
in  life,  would  have  greatly  aided.  He  died  on  the  2d  of  October,  1803,  at  the  great 
age  of  eighty-two. 

We  cannot  more  appropriately  bring  to  a  close  this  hasty  notice  of  this  great  man 
than  to  give  his  reply  to  Colonel  Fenton,  the  emissary  of  General  Gage,  sent  ex- 
pressly for  the  purpose  of  buying  up  the  "  obstinate  rebel."  After  offering  every  flat- 
tering and  tempting  bribe  in  the  shape  of  office  and  gold,  and  more  than  intimating 
that  his  liberty,  if  not  his  life,  hung  on  his  reply,  —  «  Go,"  he  said,  raising  himself  to 
his  full  height,  and  putting  on  an  attitude  of  proud  and  heroic  defiance  —  "go  tell 
Governor  Gage  that  my  peace  has  long  been  made  with  the  King  of  kings,  and  that 
it  is  the  advice  of  Samuel  Adams  to  him,  no  longer  to  insult  the  feelings  of  an  al- 
ready exasperated  people" 


JOHN    HANCOCK. 

JOHN  HANCOCK,  the  first  governor  under  the  present  constitution  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, was  the  son  of  Rev.  John  Hancock,  of  Braintree,  in  Massachusetts, 
and  was  born  in  that  towia — n,ow  @,ma^y'-^ih'  the  year  1737.  In  1754,  he  was 
graduated  at  Harvard  Coljege<  at,  fhe  agVof  seventeeh/with  no  particular  mark  of 
distinction.  On  leaving  cojiege,  he  entered  the  counting-!^6use  of  his  uncle,  f»n.e  of 
the  wealthiest  merchant^  of  Bostop^  \^hfer^^^^re,rrAain&d  six  years.  He  then  went 
abroad  for  four  years;  and  referred  liortte  to? enter  upon; the  immense  fortune  of  his 
uncle,  who,  dying,  had  mad^birri  his  heir.  3  *V\"«  3*\ 

Mr.  Hancock  was  blesse'd^WJth: \  pleasipg ,p^rsoj>  and  winning  address,  which, 
with  his  great  wealth,  made  KmV'at^ricVa"  frian  of  consideration,  and  being  a 
decided  whig,  and  staking  every  thing  on  the  die  of  the  Revolution,  he  became 
one  of  the  most  popular  leaders  of  that  glorious  struggle,  and  one  of  the  most  ob- 
noxious to  tory  authority.  When  General  Gage  proclaimed  "  a  general  pardon  to 
the  rebels,"  Hancock  and  Samuel  Adams  were  excepted,  "  as  their  offences  were  of 
too  flagitious  a  nature  to  admit  of  any  other  consideration  than  the  most  condign 
punishment." 

At   this   time,  Mr.  Hancock  was  president  of  the    Continental  Congress.     This 


56  JOHN    HANCOCK. 

was  in  1774.  In  this  year,  he  delivered  an  oration  on  the  anniversary  of  the  "Boston 
Massacre,"  which  established  his  reputation  as  a  true  friend  of  his  country.  About 
this  time,  also,  he  declined  the  honor  of  acting  as  counsellor  to  the  governor,  as  he 
had  before  declined  a  military  commission  offered  him  by  General  Gage.  These  acts 
greatly  increased  his  popularity  with  the  patriots,  and  irritated  the  tories  exceedingly. 
While  president  of  this  illustrious  Congress,  in  1776,  he  placed  his  name  at  the  head 
of  that  immortal  paper  which  declared  to  the  world  our  independence,  where  it  stands 
in  that  round,  striking  hand  which  exhibits  a  bold  and  fearless  spirit,  and  a  resolution 
never  to  subscribe  to  any  compromise  with  tyranny  or  oppression. 

As  we  have  seen,  in  1780,  John  Hancock  was  chosen  first  governor  under  the  new 
constitution  of  his  native  state,  which  office  he  continued  to  hold,  with  the  exception 
of  two  years,  —  in  which  Mr.  Bowdoin  served  in  that  capacity,  —  until  his  death,  in 
October,  1793,  at  the  age  of  fifty-five. 

Possessed  of  all  "the  means  and  appliances  to  booV  Governor  Hancock  lived  in 
a  style  of  princely  magnificence  ;  and  having  a  heart  devising  liberal  things,  with  "a 
hand  which  knew  not  how  to  shut  itself,"  his  abode  was  the  very  ne  plus  ultra  of  a 
noble  and  brilliant  hospitality.  Punctilious  in  all  matters  of  etiquette,  fastidious, 
even,  in  the  matter  and  manner  of  his  toilet,  and  blessed  with  an  exquisite  taste  in, 
all  his  household  arrangements,  his  appointments  were  au  fait,  his  viands  the  richest, 
his  wines  the  rarest  and  most  delicate,  and  his  guests  the  very  elite.  But  his  door  was 
never  shut  on  the  people,  and  the  poor  were  never  sent  empty-handed  and  in  sorrow 
from  his  door.  If  he  had  his  weak  points  —  as  who  that  reads  has  not?  —  his  noble 
patriotism,  his  generous  benevolence,  his  upright  life  lie  on  them  as  a  thick  mantle, 
and  we  are  gladly  blind  to  their  existence. 

To  such  as  would  like  to  see  a  picture  of  those  ancient  days,  we  present  the  fol- 
lowing, from  the  graphic  pen  of  the  author  of  "  Familiar  Letters  on  Public  Charac- 
ters," "taken  when  the  governor  was  forty-five  years  old." 

"  Governor  Hancock  was  nearly  six  feet  tall,  of  thin  person,  stooping  a  little,  and 
apparently  enfeebled  by  age.  His  manners  were  very  gracious,  of  the  old  style  of 
dignified  complaisance.  His  face  had  been  very  handsome.  His  dress  was  adapted 
quite  as  much  to  be  ornamental  ^as, useful.  r  Gentlemen  generally  wore  wigs  when 
abroad,  and  caps  when  at  harrie.;  ;A^4iw&  7tifh£j/(J,trn,e.,  1782,)  about  noon,  Hancock 
was  dressed  in  a  red  yet\te£  cap,  within  which  wa§  etfe'roi  fine  linen,  turned  up  over 
the  lower  edge  of  the  velvet  ftbcnit  .three,  jripjies.  He  wofe^Wue  damask  gown,  lined 
with  silk;  a  white  stock,  a  'white  satjri;  ejmtoiilfj^of  Waistcoat,  black  satin  small- 
clothes, white  silk  stocking*?,,,  a'jd  red  morocco  slippers'. \  It  was  a  general  practice  in 
genteel  families  to  have  a*  ta-r^aref  ©£•  p&ach^inadeife'yoe  evening,  and  placed  in  a 
cooler  when  the  season  required  it^  /'V^s'ftprs^w'ere  jiftvited  to  partake  of  it.  At  this 
visit,  Hancock  took  from  the  cooler,  standing  on  the  hearth,  a  full  tankard,  and  drink- 
ing first  himself,  then  handed  it  to  his  guests.  At  his  table  might  be  seen  all  classes, 
from  grave  and  dignified  clergy  down  to  the  gifted  in  song,  narrative,  anecdote,  and 
wit,  with  whom 

'  Noiseless  falls  the  foot  of  time  that  only  falls  on  flowers.' " 


GOVERNOR    HTJTCHINSON 


IT  is  matter  for  felicitation  that  the  bitter  and  unnatural  feeling  towards  Great 
Britain,  which  grew  out  of  our  Revolution,  is  fast  dying  away,  and  that  Amer- 
icans are  becoming  able  to  discriminate  between  the  cruel  and  unjust  policy  of  the 
government  and  the  fidelity  of  many  individuals  who  were  connected  with  it.  No 
epithet  has  become  more  odious  to  American  ears  than  that  of  tory ;  and  it  is  not 
yet  fully  divested  of  the  hated  definition  given  to  it  in  the  times  of  our  Revolution, 
"an  enemy  to  freedom,  and  an  abetter  of  despotism." 

The  subject  of  this  memoir  was  exceedingly  unfortunate  in  the  time  of  his  birth. 
Had  he  lived  either  a  half  century  earlier  or  later,  his  fame  had  been  equal  to  almost 
any  of  the  great  men  of  our  history.  His  toryism  was  loyalty  to  his  government, 
and  not  enmity  to  freedom  ;  and  had  that  government  triumphed,  he  would  have 
been  glorified  as  a  hero  arid  a  patriot,  while  "  the  rebels "  would  still  have  been 
rebels,  and  suffered  the  execration  ever  heaped  upon  the  unsuccessful  fomenters  of 
revolution. 

Governor  Hutchinson  was  a  man  of  great  learning,  probity,  honor,  and  capabil- 
ities, and,  previous  to  his  appointment  to  the  governorship  of  the  colony,  was  exceed- 
ingly efficient  and  popular  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  the  various  offices  to 


58  GOVERNOR    HUTCHINSON. 

which  he  was  appointed.  The  State  of  Massachusetts  has  occasion  to  remember 
his  services  in  her  behalf  with  gratitude,  as  well  in  respect  to  his  powerful  influence  in 
the  settlement  of  that  wearisome  and  difficult  question  of  boundary  between  Massa- 
chusetts and  New  York,  as  in  the  deep  interest  he  took  in  colonial  history,  and  the 
valuable  manuscripts  he  left  behind  him  relating  to  that  subject.  But,  unfor- 
tunately for  his  memory,  his  sympathies  were  with  his  government,  and  he  was 
guilty  of  the  sin  of  fidelity  to  his  oath,  —  he  was  a  tory. 

Governor  Thomas  Hutchinson  was  a  native  of  Boston,  and  born  in  1711.  His 
great  precocity  was  the  subject  of  much  remark,  and  of  just  pride  to  his  father,  the 
Hon.  Thomas  Hutchinson.  At  the  early  age  of  twelve,  he  was  admitted  to  Harvard 
College,  and  received  his  bachelor's  degree  in  1727,  when  only  sixteen  years  old. 
After  leaving  college,  he  entered  into  mercantile  business ;  but  not  succeeding  in  this, 
he  turned  his  attention  to  the  law.  Such  was  his  character  for  uprightness  and 
ability,  that  his  townsmen  elected  him  to  the  important  and  responsible  office  of 
selectman  when  he  was  but  twenty-seven  ;  and,  at  this  early  age,  he  was  selected  as 
their  agent  in  very  important  business  in  England,  which  duty  he  performed  to  the 
entire  satisfaction  of  the  town.  The  same  year  he  was  chosen  representative  to  the 
General  Court,  where  he  remained  until  1747,  the  last  three  years  of  which  he  was 
honored  by  being  called  to  preside  over  that  dignified  body,  of  which  no  member  was 
more  efficient  than  he.  In  1750,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  his  Majesty's  Council ; 
in  1752,  was  appointed  Judge  of  Probate  ;  in  1758,  Lieutenant  Governor ;  in  1760, 
he  received  the  appointment  of  Chief  Justice,  —  holding  at  one  time  the  offices  of 
Judge  of  Probate,  Councillor,  Chief  Justice,  and  Lieutenant  Governor. 

Hitherto  he  had  been  borne  on  the  tide  of  popular  favor.  But  now  came  the 
trying  times  of  the  Revolution.  The  "  Stamp  Act,"  the  introduction  of  British 
troops  "  to  awe  the  insurgents,"  the  entrance  of  the  famous  tea  ships  into  Boston 
Harbor,  —  these,  and  other  arbitrary  acts  of  the  home  government,  compelled  every, 
man  to  take  sides  with  either  the  Crown  or  the  Revolution.  As  has  been  seen,  Gov- 
ernor Hutchinson  decided  on  the  former.  The  result  was,  that  "  Boston  became  too 
hot  for  him  ;"  and,  in  June,  1774,  he  sailed,  by  royal  permission,  for  England,  where 
he  lived  retired  from  public  life  until  June,  1780,  when  he  died,  being  sixty-nine  years 
of  age. 

During  the  last  year  of  Hutchinson's  stay  in  Boston,  he  became  exceedingly  bitter 
towards  the  Revolution  and  the  "  insurgents,"  and  he  recommended  and  adopted 
many  measures  highly  obnoxious  to  the  citizens  and  the  colony  generally.  The 
enraged  populace  gutted  his  house,  destroying  his  furniture,  library,  and  paintings, 
and  cast  on  him  every  possible  indignity.  On  his  return  to  England,  an  attempt 
was  made  to  impeach  him,  but  the  lords  of  the  privy  council  sent  to  the  crown  a 
report  highly  favorable  to  his  cause,  and  the  attempt  failed.  He,  however,  fell  into 
disrepute  with  all  parties,  and  led  the  remnant  of  his  life  in  neglected  retirement. 

The  history  of  the  colonies  which  Governor  Hutchinson  left  behind  is  an  invalu- 
able record  of  the  times  he  lived  in.  It  is  held  in  high  repute  for  the  accuracy  of  its 
facts  and  dates,  as  well  as  for  the  faithful  impartiality  of  its  notices  of  the  men  who 
figured  in  the  early  history  of  New  England. 


JOHN    ADAMS. 


JOHN  ADAMS,  the  second  President  of  the  United  States,  was  born  in  Quincy 
Massachusetts,  on  the  19th  of  October,  (old  style,)  1735 ;  was  graduated  at 
Harvard  University  in  1755  ;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1758 ;  about  this  time  wrote 
his  celebrated  "Essay  on  the  Canon  and  Federal  Law;"  in  1766,  removed  to  Bos- 
ton; was  chosen  Councillor  in  1773;  elected  to  the  Continental  Congress  in  1774, 
of  which  he  was  one  of  the  most  efficient  members,  and  was  associated  with  Jeffer- 
son, Franklin,  Sherman,  and  Livingston  as  a  committee  to  draft  a  Declaration  of 
Independence,  and  was  "the  Colossus  of  support"  to  that  immortal  instrument  in 
that  august  body.  The  same  year,  he  was  placed  on  a  committee  to  wait  on  Lord 
Howe  in  reference  to  the  condition  of  the  country;  where,  being  received  by  his 
lordship  with  an  imposing  military  display,  and  being  told  that  they  could  not  be 
received  as  a  committee  of  Congress,  but  only  as  private  gentlemen,  Adams  replied, 
"  You  may  view  me  in  what  light  you  please,  sir,  except  that  of  a  British  subject." 
While  in  Congress,  he  served  as  a  member  of  ninety  different  committees,  and  chair- 
man of  twenty-five.  In  1778,  he  was  appointed  commissioner  to  France,  and,  return- 
ing to  America  the  following  year,  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  convention  called  to 
frame  a  constitution  for  Massachusetts  under  the  new  form  of  national  government. 

5 


<jO  JOHN    ADAMS. 

Fie  drew  up  the  report  of  the  committee  chosen  for  that  purpose,  —  of  which  he  was 
chairman,  — which  was  adopted,  and  under  which  Massachusetts,  for  so  many  years, 
prospered  and  grew  into  greatness.  The  same  year,  he  received  the  appointment  of 
minister  plenipotentiary  "to  negotiate  a  treaty  of  peace  and  a  treaty  of  commerce 
with  Great  Britain;"  and  the  following  year  was  appointed  to  the  same  office  at  Hol- 
land, from  which  he  was  suddenly  summoned  to  Paris  to  consult  on  a  general  peace 
with  the  commissioners  of  Austria,  Russia,  and  France,  which,  after  many  difficul- 
ties, was  effected  in  1783.  In  1785,  Mr.  Adams  was  appointed  minister  plenipoten- 
tiary to  the  court  of  St.  James,  where  his  profound  diplomatic  acquirements  imparted 
dignity  to  his  mission,  and  secured  to  his  country  many  important  advantages.  At 
his  own  request,  he  was  permitted  to  resign  his  charge  in  1788,  and  the  same  year 
was  elected  Vice  President  of  the  United  States. 

On  the  retirement  of  Washington,  in  1797,  Mr.  Adams  was  chosen  his  successor, 
by  seventy-one  of  the  electoral  votes,  Mr.  Jefferson  having  sixty-eight.  Mr.  Jefferson 
succeeded  him  in  1801,  and  he  retired  to  his  farm,  in  Quincy,  where  he  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  life.  In  the  year  1820,  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  convention 
to  revise  the  constitution  of  his  native  state,  —  that  instrument  eminently  the  work 
of  his  own  mind  and  pen,  —  and  in  the  same  year,  at  the  great  age  of  eighty-five, 
voted  as  elector  of  president  and  vice  president. 

Mr.  Adams  left  his  mark  upon  the  institutions  of  his  country,  as  well  as  on  those 
of  Europe,  and  lived  to  behold  the  fulfilment  of  the  predictions  he  uttered  when  the 
colonies  were  struggling  against  the  iron-handed  despotism  of  Great  Britain.  In  a 
letter  to  his  wife,  dated  July  5,  1776,  he  writes  thus  :  "  Yesterday,  the  greatest  ques- 
tion was  decided  that  was  ever  debated  in  America;  and  greater,  perhaps,  never  was] 
and  never  will  be  decided  among  men.  A  resolution  was  passed,  without  one  dis- 
senting colony,  '  That  these  United  States  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and 
independent  states.'  The  day  is  passed.  The  4th  of  July,  1776,  will  be  a  mem- 
orable epoch  in  the  history  of  America.  I  am  apt  to  believe  it  will  be  celebrated  by 
succeeding  generations  as  the  great  anniversary  festival.  It  ought  to  be  celebrated 
with  pomp,  shows,  games,  sports,  guns,  bells,  bonfires,  and  illuminations  from  onej 
end  of  the  continent  to  the  other,  from  this  time  forward,  forever.  You  will  think 
me  transported  with  enthusiasm,  but  I  am  not.  I  am  well  aware  of  the  blood,  and 
toil,  and  treasure  it  wrill  cost  to  maintain  this  declaration,  and  support  and  defend 
these  states;  yet  through  all  the  gloom  I  can  see  the  rays  of  light  and  glory.  I  can 
see  that  the  end  is  worth  more  than  all  the  means;  and  that  posterity  will  triumph, 
although  you  and  I  may  rue,  which  I  hope  we  shall  not." 

Mr.  Adams  was  among  the  few  of  that  brave  band  —  who  cast  "their  lives,  their 
fortunes,  and  their  sacred  honors"  on  the  die  of  the  Revolution  —  who  was  permitted 
to  live  to  witness  the  permanent  establishment  of  the  institutions  they  bequeathed 
to  their  children  and  posterity.  He  lived  to  see  his  country  great  and  powerful,  and; 
carried  successfully  through  a  war  with  its  old  enemy,  the  haughtiest  and  most  in- 
vincible nation  on  the  earth.  He  lived  to  see  his  son  succeed  to  the  honors  which  a 
grateful  country  had  bestowed  on  himself,  —  until,  (as  if  Heaven-appointed,)  on  the 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  his  country's  independence,  with  the  glorious  words  trembling 
on  his  dying  lips,  "INDEPENDENCE  FOREVER!"  hand  in  hand  with  his  old  compatriot 
Jefferson,  he  passed  away  amid  the  firing  of  guns,  the  ringing  of  bells,  and  the  re- 
joicings of  an  emancipated  people. 


PATRICK    HENRY. 


TI1HIS  brilliant  and  powerful  orator,  whom  every  American  names  with  pride, 
JL  was  born  in  Virginia,  on  the  29th  of  May,  1736.  His  boyhood  was  as  un- 
promising as  could  be  well  imagined.  He  was  a  vagrant  truant,  hating  his  books, 
and  delighting  in  nothing  so  much  as  his  angle-rod  and  his  gun.  At  the  age  of 
fifteen,  his  father  finding  it  difficult  to  meet  the  expenses  of  a  large  and  still  growing 
family,  Patrick  was  placed  behind  the  counter  of  a  country  store.  Here  he  re- 
mained a  year,  when  his  father  set  him  up  in  business  in  company  with  an  elder 
brother,  more  idle  and  negligent,  if  possible,  than  himself.  The  result  was  as  might, 
have  been  supposed  —  bankruptcy  in  a  short  space  of  time. 

Young  Henry  was  possessed  of  an  amiable  and  sensitive  spirit,  and  although  too 
indolent  to  rouse  himself  to  any  great  effort,  yet  his  soul  was  galled  at  his  want  of 
success,  and  the  inevitable  ruin  which  stared  him  in  the  face.  As  he  was  confined 
to  his  store,  and  could  not  seek  relief  in  the  out-door  sports  in  which  he  so  greatly 
delighted,  he  sought  to  solace  his  spirit  with  his  flute  and  such  books  as  fell  in  his 
way.  In  this  way,  he  acquired  a  love  for  reading,  which  grew  into  a  passion,  and 
became  the  germ  of  his  future  greatness.  From  childhood,  he  took  great  delight  in 
the  study  of  character ;  and  it  used  to  be  one  of  his  pastimes  to  get  together  in  his 


62  PATRICK     HENRY. 

store  a  dozen  men  of  the  neighborhood,  and  excite  them  to  discussion,  and  then 
silently  watch  every  expression  and  word  and  motion,  and  paint  their  characters  on 
his  own  brain,  and  fancy  how  they  would  severally  act  under  given  circumstances. 
This  also  became  the  end  of  his  reading  —  the  study  of  human  nature.  Little  did 
he  then  think  of  the  mighty  power  of  scrutiny  of  human  character  he  was  unfold- 
ing and  nourishing  in  his  soul,  and  which  in  after  life  enabled  him  to  read  so  readily 
the  tablet  of  character,  hidden  to  nearly  all  other  eyes,  in  the  bosom  of  its  possessor. 
When  his  company  was  dull  and  silent,  he  would  rouse  them  with  accounts  of 
«-hat  he  had  read  and  seen,  or  entertain  them  with  the  creations  of  a  wild  but 
manly  imagination  ;  and  when  they  were  sufficiently  excited,  would  resume  his 
taciturnity  and  observation. 

This  was  the  early  self-training  of  Patrick  Henry.  Here  he  began  to  develop 
those  mighty  gifts,  which  in  after  life  constituted  him,  as  Jefferson  declared,  "one  of 
the  greatest  orators  that  ever  lived."  "  Never  was  there  a  man,  in  any  age,"  says 
Wirt,  "  who  possessed,  in  a  more  eminent  degree,  the  lucid  and  nervous  style  of 
argument,  the  command  of  the  most  beautiful  imagery,  or  that  language  of  passion 
which  burns  from  soul  to  soul." 

About  this  period,  with  his  usual  recklessness,  at  the  early  age  of  eighteen,  he 
married  and  went  on  a  small  plantation,  where  with  a  couple  of  slaves  he  tilled  the 
soil  for  two  years.  Wearying  of  the  sweat  of  labor,  notwithstanding  his  past 
disastrous  experience,  he  converted  all  his  means  into  ready  money,  and  embarked 
once  more  in  trade  —  once  more  to  run  a  rapid  race  into  bankruptcy  and  ruin. 

In  absolute  despair,  he  determined  to  study  the  law  —  a  study  in  which  all  prog- 
nosticated failure.  In  six  weeks  from  the  time  of  entering  the  office,  he  passed  his 
examination,  astonishing  his  examiners,  not  by  his  acquaintance  with  the  law, 
but  by  the  strength  of  his  intellect,  and  the  brilliancy  of  his  genius.  Having 
obtained  his  license,  his  success  was  small  for  three  years,  during  which  he 
suffered  all  the  horrors  of  poverty ;  when  an  event  brought  him  into  notoriety, 
and  placed  him  at  once  at  the  head  of  the  Virginia  bar. 

For  a  long  time,  tobacco  had  been  a  medium  of  exchange  in  Virginia,  as 
wampum  amongst  the  Indians,  and  the  price  per  pound  was  fixed  by  law.  The 
salaries  of  the  clergy  were  generally  paid  in  tobacco.  As  might  have  been  fore- 
seen, the  fluctuations  in  prices  led  to  much  discussion  and  discontent.  The  subject 
became  an  engrossing  one,  and  the  colony  was  divided,  a  large  portion  of  them 
siding  with  the  clergy,  and  the  balance  in  favor  of  the  legislature.  After  much 
angry  discussion  in  public  assemblies,  and  through  the  press,  the  cause  was  brought 
to. an  issue  before  the  courts  of  law.  Patrick  Henry,  then  about  twenty-seven  years 
old,  pleaded  against  the  clergy,  with  such  wonderful  effect,  as  at  once  to  astonish 
every  body,  and  to  establish  his  reputation  as  a  public  pleader  and  orator. 

From  this  point,  the  life  of  Patrick  Henry  is  brilliantly  connected  with  the 
history  of  his  country.  Jefferson  says  of  him,  that  "  he  did  more  than  any  other 
man  to  put  the  ball  of  revolution  in  motion."  He  died  on  the  6th  day  of  June, 
1799,  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of  his  age,  with  an  unshaken  reliance  upon  the  Infi- 
nite, for  whom  he  ever  entertained  the  most  profound  reverence  and  love  —  a  firm 
believer  in  virtue  as  the  only  basis  of  character  and  happiness. 


JOHN    JAY. 


PIERRE  JAY,  the  great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  was  one  of 
,  those  persecuted  Huguenots  who  were  driven  from  France  by  the  cruel  revocation 
of  the  edict  of  Nantes.  He  fled  to  England.  His  son,  Augustus,  barely  escaping  with 
his  life,  came  to  America,  and  settled  in  New  York.  Here  he  married,  and  lived  in 
prosperity  until  1751,  when  he  died,  leaving  one  son  and  three  daughters.  This  son, 
named  Peter,  was  the  father  of  John.  He  was  a  merchant  of  great  respectability  in 
New  York,  and,  having  acquired  a  large  fortune,  retired  to  an  estate  on  Long  Island. 
JOHN  JAY,  the  eighth  child  of  Peter,  was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  December 
12,  1745.  He  was  graduated  at  Columbia  College,  1764,  with  the  highest  honors  of 
his  class,  and,  in  1768,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  with  the  most  brilliant  prospects.  A 
contemporary  thus  speaks  of  him  :  "  His  talents  and  virtues  gave  at  that  period  pleas- 
ing indications  of  future  eminence.  Pie  was  remarkable  for  strong  reasoning  powers, 
comprehensive  views,  indefatigable  application,  and  uncommon  firmness  of  rnind." 

Mr.  Jay  would  doubtless  have  risen  to  great  eminence  in  his  profession  had  he 
been  permitted  to  pursue  it ;  but  the  political  horizon  was  already  lowering  and 
threatening,  and  he  could  not  be  indifferent  to  the  great  struggle  for  human  freedom 


64  JOHN    JAY. 

which  had  even  then  commenced.  He  joined  the  noble  brotherhood  who  leagued 
for  the  overthrow  of  tyranny,  and  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  Jefferson,  the 
Adamses,  Henry,  Hamilton,  and  the  whole  host  of  patriots  who  took  their  lives  in 
their  hands  and  "determined  to  sink  or  swim  with  their  country." 

Mr.  Jay  was  married  in  1774,  to  Sarah,  daughter  of  William  Livingston,  Esq.,  sub- 
sequently Governor  of  New  Jersey.  In  the  same  year,  he  was  elected  one  of  the 
delegates  to  the  first  Congress,  and,  when  he  took  his  seat,  was  the  youngest  member 
on  the  floor  of  that  house.  Yet  such  were  the  gravity  of  his  manner,  the  profound- 
ness of  his  knowledge,  and  ripeness  of  his  judgment,  that  he  was  appointed  to  some 
of  the  most  important  committees  of  that  august  body.  He  wrote  that  "  Address  to 
the  People  of  Great  Britain,"  which  the  gifted  Jefferson  pronounced  to  be  "  the  pro- 
duction of  the  finest  pen  in  America,"  and  this  without  knowing  the  author.  He  wrote 
several  other  addresses  adopted  by  Congress,  all  of  which  bear  the  stamp  of  true 
genius,  burning  patriotism,  and  great  comprehensiveness.  They  are  as  elegant  as 
they  are  methodical  and  profound. 

In  1777,  New  York  having  adopted  a  constitution  under  the  new  order  of  things, 
Mr.  Jay  was  appointed  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court.  Between  his  resigna- 
tion in  the  Congress  of  1774  and  this  appointment,  he  was  constantly  and  actively 
employed  in  the  most  important  public  duties,  and  rendered  very  essential  aid  to  his 
country.  This  was  by  far  the  gloomiest  period  in  the  history  of  our  country,  and, 
while  many  trembled,  and  thousands  fainted,  he  was  one  of  that  immortal  band  of 
heroes  who  never  faltered,  never  despaired.  Glory  to  those  hearts  of  oak  who  bore 
the  ark  of  our  liberties  fearlessly,  steadily,  SAFELY  through  the  terrible  storms  of  that 
unequalled  Revolution  ! 

On  the  "special  occasion"  of  the  controversy  between  New  York  and  Vermont, 
Mr.  Jay  was  elected  to  Congress,  and  took  his  seat  in  December,  1778,  and  was  im- 
mediately called  to  preside  over  its  deliberations.  He  resigned  this  office  in  Septem- 
ber, 1779,  having  received  the  appointment  of  minister  plenipotentiary  to  Spain,  on 
which  mission  he  sailed  in  October  of  the  same  year.  In  1782,  he  was  appointed 
"commissioner  to  negotiate  a  peace  with  England,"  in  company  with  Dr.  Franklin, 
John  Adams,  and  Mr.  Laurens.  In  all  these  duties,  —  most  of  which  were  delicate  and 
difficult,  and  many  of  which  were  exceedingly  vexatious  and  annoying, —  Mr.  Jay 
showed  himself  equal  to  his  task,  and  acquitted  himself  with  great  credit  and  patri- 
otism. It  was  mainly  owing  to  his  firmness  that  the  recognition  of  the  independence 
of  the  United  States  was  extorted  from  Great  Britain.  His  health  having  become 
impaired,  he  resigned  his  commission,  and  after  spending  some  time  at  the  watering- 
places  in  England,  and  in  the  refined  society  of  Paris,  he  returned  home  in  May,  1784, 
when  his  services  were  immediately  required  in  the  capacity  of  Secretary  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  in  which  office  he  labored  until  the  adoption  of  the  new  constitution,  when 
President  Washington  asked  him  to  select  any  office  he  might  desire.  He  accord- 
ingly solicited  and  obtained  the  appointment  of  Chief  Justice  of  the  United  States. 

In  1794,  Mr.  Jay  was  appointed  envoy  extraordinary  to  Great  Britain,  to  negotiate 
a  treaty  of  commerce,  which  he  effected  with  great  skill  and  fidelity  to  his  country. 
On  his  return,  he  was  elected  Governor  of  New  York,  which  office  he  felt  bound  to 
accept,  and  accordingly  resigned  that  of  chief  justice.  He  served  in  that  capacity 
until  1801,  when  he  retired  to  private  life,  firmly  resisting  all  overtures  from  Congress 
and  his  friends.  He  died  in  May,  1829. 


^:x. 


MARTHA    WASHINGTON 


MARTHA,  the  beloved  wife  of  President  Washington,  whose  maiden  name 
was  DANDRIDGE,  was  of  Welsh  descent,  and  was  born  in  New  Kent  county, 
in  the  colony  of  Virginia,  some  time  in  the  month  of  May,  1732.  Very  little  i.- 
known  of  the  early  life  of  Miss  Dandridge,  except  that  she  was  exceedingly  fair  to 
behold,  fascinating  in  her  manners,  amiable  in  disposition,  and  the  reigning  belle 
at  Williamsburg,  where  the  English  governor  and  his  satellites  held  their  court.  It 
is  not  to  be  supposed  that  she  was  destitute  of  admirers  among  the  young  gallant .s 
who  figured  in  "  the  governor's  court ; "  but  she  selected  for  her  companion  Colonel 
Daniel  Parke  Custis,  a  man  of  middle  age,  possessing  many  manly  charms,  and 
great  wealth.  How  much  this  latter  qualification  affected  her  choice,  we  shall  leave 
to  the  casuistry  of  our  fair  readers.  Tradition  and  the  historian  unite  in  saying  that 
the  match  was  one  of  affection.  She  was  but  seventeen  when  they  were  married, 
in  1749.  The  fruits  of  this  marriage  were  four  children,  one  of  whom  died  in  in- 
fancy. Colonel  Custis  lived  but  a  few  years  in  the  enjoyments  of  his  happy  home, 
and  died  in  the  prime  of  life,  leaving  his  young  and  beautiful  widow  one  of  the 
wealthiest  in  all  Virginia. 

In    1758,    Colonel    Washington    was   riding   express    to   Williamsburg,   benrim 


66  MARTHA    WASHINGTON. 

important  despatches  to  the  royal  council.  His  route  lay  through  New  Kent. 
There  he  encountered  an  old  friend,  who  endeavored,  by  every  persuasive  art,  to 
detain  him  over  night.  But  the  punctilious  Washington  was  proof  to  all  seduc- 
tions, until  his  friend  offered  to  introduce  him  to  a  young  and  beautiful  widow, 
then  residing  under  his  roof.  After  some  awkward  and  half-sincere  protests,  the 
gallant  colonel  consented  to  tarry  an  hour  or  two,  stipulating  that  he  should  then 
be  permitted  to  depart,  and  make  up  his  delay  by  travelling  far  into  the  night.  Hour 
after  hour  sped  on,  and  still  the  handsome  cavalier  loitered ;  and  the  sun  had  risen 
high  in  the  heavens  before  his  astonished  body  servant,  the  faithful  Bishop,  received 
the  command,  "forward."  Speeding  on  his  way,  he  despatched  his  business  with 
the  council;  and  hastening  back  to  the  "White  House,"  —  the  residence  of  Mrs. 
Custis,  —  he  surrendered  at  discretion  to  the  fascinating  widow,  whose  bright  and 
irresistible  artillery  had  completely  carried  by  storm  the  heart  of  the  gifted  colonel. 
With  much  pomp  and  magnificence  they  were  married,  and  Colonel  Washington 
immediately  took  his  interesting  bride  and  her  children  to  his  estate  on  the. Potomac, 
the  now  world-renowned  and  classic  MOUNT  VERNON.  The  record  of  this  marriage 
is  utterly  lost,  but  it  is  supposed  to  have  taken  place  in  the  year  1759. 

Washington  and  his  lady  were  tenderly  attached  to  each  other,  and  this  devotion 
continued  throughout  their  long  union  of  nearly  a  half  century.  She  shared 
with  him  all  his  anxieties,  and  was  his  consoling  angel  amidst  the  trying  and  ad- 
verse scenes  of  the  Revolution ;  and  when,  at  length,  victory  perched  on  the  Amer- 
ican arms,  and  "the  great,  the  good,  the  noble  Father  of  his  Country"  was  loaded 
with  the  highest  honors  that  a  grateful  people  could  bestow,  she  stood  proudly,  yet 
tearfully,  by  his  side,  and  shared  his  triumph  too. 

LADY  WASHINGTON  presided  at  the  presidential  mansion,  during  the  administra- 
tion of  her  noble  spouse,  with  equal  grace  and  dignity,  and,  in  the  retirement  of 
Mount  Vernon,  assumed  and  discharged  the  matronly  duties  of  housekeeper  with 
fidelity  and  ease.  Absolutely  declining  all  further  public  cares,  Washington  and  his 
lady  looked  forward  to  a  few  years  of  quiet  and  luxurious  retirement  amidst  the 
rural  scenes  of  their  beloved  Mount  Vernon.  But  the  summons  to  depart  came  sud- 
denly to  the  veteran  soldier,  and  he  left  the  loving  and  faithful  sharer  of  his  toils 
and  triumphs  broken-hearted  and  alone.  For  two  years  she  presided  still  at  the  des- 
olated mansion  where  she  had  experienced  so  much  real  enjoyment,  moving  about 
with  the  same  dignity  and  alertness,  but  with  a  brow  pinched  and  shaded  with  "  a 
rooted  sorrow,"  when  she  gladly  hailed  the  grim  messenger  sent  to  call  her  to  a 
blessed  reunion  with  the  beloved  ones  who  had  gone  before  to  the  land  of  rest,  and 
bade  adieu  to  "  all  of  earth,"  with  a  serene  faith  in  "  Him  in  whom  she  had  trusted, 
and  whose  service,  for  more  than  half  a  century,  had  been  her  joy  and  delight." 


THADDEUS    KOSCIUSKO. 


AMONG  the  strangers  whose  sympathy  led  them  to  abandon  home  and  ease  to 
engage  in  the  rough  and  perilous  struggle  for  freedom  which  young  Amer- 
iea  had  waged  with  old  England,  towards  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
THADDEUS  KOSCIUSKO  occupied  a  conspicuous  rank.  Of  handsome  person,  brave 
almost  to  rashness,  of  gentle  and  fascinating  manners,  and  possessed,  withal,  of  a 
nature  that  scorned  the  thought  of  meanness,  he  endeared  himself  to  his  superiors 
and  equals,  and  left  behind  him  a  memory  fragrant  and  perennial. 

Kosciusko  was  born  in  Lithuania,  Poland,  in  1746.  He  belonged  to  one  of  the 
most  ancient  and  noble  families  of  that  unhappy  kingdom,  whose  fate,  so  sad  and 
romantic,  fills  one  of  the  darkest  pages  of  history.  After  availing  himself  of  the 
best  preparatory  means,  he  pursued  his  studies  at  the  military  school  at  Warsaw, 
and  completed  his  education  at  Paris.  It  was  in  this  city  that  he  made  the  ac- 
quaintance of  Dr.  Franklin,  from  whom  he  learned  the  history  of  our  country,  and 
its  struggle  for  independence.  Fired  with  the  story,  his  heart  yearned  to  strike  a  blow 
for  freedom,  and  he  proposed  to  Franklin  to  offer  his  services  to  Washington,  then 
cornmander-in-chief  of  the  American  continental  army.  Franklin,  struck  with  the 


68  THADDEUSKOSCIUSKO. 

noble  bearing  of  the  young  Pole,  gave  him  a  letter  to  Washington,  with  which  he 
immediately  embarked  for  America.  Presenting  himself  without  ceremony  at  head- 
quarters, he  handed  the  letter  of  Franklin  to  the  illustrious  Captain  of  the  Revolution, 
who,  on  reading  it,  demanded  of  the  patriotic  Pole,  "  What  do  you  seek  here  ?  "  "I 
came,"  was  his  brave  reply,  "to  fight  as  a  volunteer  for  American  independence.'' 
"  What  can  you  do  ?  "  asked  his  excellency.  "  Try  me,"  was  the  laconic  and  compre- 
hensive reply  of  Kosciusko.  Charmed  with  the  frank  and  noble  spirit  of  this  young  pil- 
grim to  the  shrine  of  Liberty,  Washington  immediately  took  him  into  his  family,  and 
made  him  his  aid.  From  that  time  until  the  close  of  the  war,  he  enjoyed  the  confi- 
dence of  Washington,  and  commanded  the  respect  and  most  sincere  affection  of  the 
general's  staff. 

The  services  of  Kosciusko  were  invaluable  to  the  American  army.  His  great 
scientific  attainments,  and  thorough  knowledge  of  the  science  of  engineering,  were 
put  into  instant  requisition,  and  Congress  appointed  him  engineer,  and  conferred  on 
him  the  title  of  colonel.  In  the  autumn  of  1777,  Gates,  having  determined  to  fix 
and  fortify  his  camp  at  Bemis's  Heights,  afterwards  so  famous  in  our  revolutionary 
history,  called  Kosciusko  to  aid  him  in  the  work. 

After  performing  this  service,  Kosciusko  was  sent  to  West  Point,  on  the  Hudson, 
to  superintend  the  erection  of  works  of  defence  on  those  beautiful  and  commanding 
heights.  And  here,  as  was  befitting,  when  the  labors  of  his  life  were  closed,  a  beau- 
tiful monument  was  erected  to  his  memory  by  the  students  of  the  Military  Academy 
afterwards  established  at  that  place. 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  Kosciusko  returned  to  fight  the  battles  of  liberty  in  his 
native  land,  and  was  appointed  major  general,  under  the  gallant  Poniatowski.  Here 
his  bravery  and  judgment  begot  him  much  credit. 

In  1794,  a  new  revolution  swept  over  ill-fated  Poland.  In  the  midst  of  that  dread- 
ful storm,  Kosciusko  was  called  to  assume  the  helm  of  the  ship  of  state,  and  was 
appointed  dictator,  with  full  and  unrestricted  powers.  In  the  exercise  of  this  tre- 
mendous commission,  he  verified  the  confidence  of  his  friends,  although  he  failed  to 
secure  liberty  to  his  country.  Russian  power  was  —  as  it  has  ever  since  been  —  too 
great  to  be  successfully  resisted,  and  the  chain  was  once  more  riveted  on  poor,  bleed- 
ing Poland.  Kosciusko,  himself  severely  wounded,  overpowered  by  numbers,  Was 
taken  prisoner,  and  shut  up  in  a  Russian  dungeon,  while 

"  Hope,  for  a  season,  bade  the  world  farewell, 
And  Freedom  shrieked,  as  Kosciusko  fell." 

After  suffering  long  the  indescribable  horrors  of  a  Russian  prison,  he  was  at 
length  released,  on  the  accession  of  Paul,  loaded  with  honors,  and  offered  a  commis- 
sion in  the  Russian  army;  which  honor  he  gracefully  but  firmly  declined,  although 
the  emperor  earnestly  entreated  him  to  accept,  and  offered  him  his  own  sword. 
"  What  need  have  I  of  a  sword,"  he  bitterly  and  mournfully  replied,  «  since  I  have 
no  longer  a  country  to  defend  ?  " 

In  1797,  Kosciusko  visited  the  United  States,  when  high  honors  were  conferred 
on  him,  and  a  large  grant  of  land  made  by  Congress,  in  consideration  of  his  emi- 
nent services.  He  remained  in  America  many  years,  but,  towards  the  close  of  his 
life,  he  went  to  Switzerland,  and  died  there,  October  16,  1817,  in  the  seventy-second 
year  of  his  age. 


DAVID    RITTENHOUSE. 


"VYJ'HEN  a  great  captain  dies,  whether  he  fall  on  the  ensanguined  field  of  glory, 
T  T  or  die  amidst  the  scenes  of  retirement  and  of  home,  the  pageant,  the  pomp, 
and  heraldry  of  war  blaze  his  death  and  his  deeds  to  the  world ;  but  when  the 
philosopher  passes  away,  whose  life  of  glorious  deeds  has  been  bloodless,  and 
almost  unknown  to  the  busy  world,  the  tears  of  good  men  keep  his  memory  green, 
and  humanity  mourns  that  earth  has  been  bereft  of  one  of  its  benefactors.  So  wept 
humanity  when  Rittenhouse  expired. 

DAVID  RITTENHOUSE  was  born  of  humble  but  honest  parents,  at  Germantown, 
Pennsylvania,  on  the  8th  of  April,  1732.  His  early  life  was  devoted  to  the  common 
labors  of  the  farm;  but  even  his  childhood  gave  evidence  of  a  teeming  genius  be- 
neath the  ploughboy's  rough  exterior.  Figures,  diagrams,  and  pictures  covered  the 
implements  of  his  labor,  the  walls  of  his  room,  the  fences,  and  even  the  stones  of 
the  field.  Being  a  delicate  child,  the  arduous  duties  of  husbandry  were  found  to  be 
too  much  for  his  strength,  and  he  was  "put  out"  to  learn  the  trade  of  clock  and 
mathematical  instrument  making.  Here  he  soon  became  the  master  and  teacher, 
and  made  great  improvements  in  every  piece  of  work  he  undertook.  He  also  dis- 
covered fluxions,  and  for  years  supposed  himself  the  author  of  this  remarkable 


TO  DAVID     RITTENHOUSE. 

invention,  not  knowing  that  Newton  and  Leibnitz  had  been  quarrelling  for  that  honor 
for  many  years.  While  in  this  obscure  condition,  he  planned  and  put  into  operation 
an  orrery,  which  represented  the  situation  and  relation  of  all  the  bodies  of  the  solar 
system,  present,  past,  and  to  corne,  forever.  This  masterpiece  of  genius  and  mechan- 
ism was  purchased  by  the  government  of  the  college  of  New  Jersey.  Another,  after 
the  same  model,  was  ordered  for  the  use  of  the  college  of  Philadelphia. 

In  1770,  he  removed  to  Philadelphia,  where  his  reputation  soon  became  world- 
wide, and  his  clocks  and  mathematical,  instruments  won  the  highest  encomiums. 
Previous  to  this,  he  had  made  a  communication  to  the  Philosophical  Society  in 
Philadelphia,  in  which  he  calculated,  with  great  exactness,  the  transit  of  Venus, 
which  was  to  take  place  on  the  3d  of  June,  1769,  and  he  was  one  of  the  number 
appointed  to  observe  it.  The  day  was  cloudless,  and  every  thing  conspired  to  render 
the  observation  perfect.  Twice  only,  before,  had  mortal  eye  looked  on  such  an 
august  ceremonial,  and  on  its  revelations  hung  many  of  the  predictions  of  astron- 
omers and  philosophers.  No  wonder  that  the  bosom  of  our  philosopher  heaved  with 
many  and  high  emotions ;  no  wonder  he  hung  with  fear  and  trembling  on  the  slow, 
leaden-winged  seconds  which  immediately  preceded  the  contact  and  embrace  of 
those  long-separated  wanderers  of  the  sky.  Slowly  they  approach  ;  at  length  they 
touch;  the  exactness  of  his  predictions  is  verified  :  the  joy,  the  wonder,  the  glad  sur- 
prise is  too  much  for  his  delicate  frame,  and  the  transported  Rittenhouse  swoons! 
On  the  9th  of  November  following,  he  observed  the  transit  of  Mercury.  His  ac- 
count of  both  these  transits  is  recorded  in  the  annals  of  the  American  Philo- 
sophical Society,  of  which,  in  1791,  he  was  chosen  president,  on  the  demise  of  Dr. 
Franklin,  and  on  which  occasion  he  made  a  donation  to  the  society  of  three  hundred 
pounds. 

In  1775,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  commissioners  for  the  settlement  of  a  terri- 
torial dispute  between  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia;  in  1784—5,  for  establishing  the 
western  and  northern  boundaries  of  Pennsylvania ;  and,  in  1787,  for  fixing  the 
boundary  line  between  Massachusetts  and  New  York.  In  the  discharge  of  these 
onerous  and  arduous  duties,  he  secured  the  approbation  of  those  who  employed  him, 
and  endeared  himself  to  all  those  who  were  associated  with  him  in  the  various  com- 
missions. He  held  the  office  of  Treasurer  to  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  from  1777 
to  1789,  and,  in  1792,  was  appointed  Director  of  the  Mint,  which  office  he  resigned, 
in  1795,  on  account  of  ill  health.  His  health,  which  had  never  been  robust,  had  been 
gradually  failing  him  for  years.  He  foresaw,  without  alarm,  the  hastening  of  his 
chariot  wheels  to  their  goal;  for  his  unclouded  faith  —  practical  as  it  was  beautiful 
—  in  the  goodness  of  God  and  the  truth  of  the  Christian  revelation  enabled  him  to 
look  through  the  mists  of  time  into  the  exhaustless  regions  of  eternity,  wThere  he 
should  renew  his  investigations  of  the  Divine  Mind  under  circumstances  more  pro- 
pitious to  his  efforts  and  his  unutterable  desires.  And  when,  on  a  lovely  day  in 
June,  the  messenger  of  release  came  to  open  the  portal  of  heaven  to  his  soul,  with 
an  angelic  smile  he  bade  his  weeping  friends  farewell,  and,  with  childlike  confidence 
commending  his  spirit  to  his  heavenly  guide,  without  a  doubt  or  fear,  set  out  on 
"  the  uncertain,  everlasting  journey." 


MRS.    JOHN    ADAMS. 


IN  our  estimate  of  the  moral  forces  which  cooperated  in  the  formation  of  the 
American  government,  and  to  which  we  owe,  under  Providence,  all  our  political 
and  social  greatness,  we  are  not  sufficiently  conscious  of  the  influence  of  the  gen- 
tler sex.  In  the  moulding  of  the  characters  of  those  great  and  good  men  who 
wrought  out  our  independence ;  in  the  inspirations  of  an  unselfish  and  all-sacrificing 
patriotism  which  never  since  have  been  equalled,  and  before  only  among  the  Isaiahs 
and  Jeremiahs  of  old  time ;  in  the  stem  and  unbending  integrity  which  no  hardship 
or  penury  could  shake,  and  no  temptations  bribe  ;  —  in  all  this  we  can  scarcely  esti- 
mate too  highly  the  influence  of  woman.  Nor  is  the  portion  of  toil  and  suffering 
borne  by  the  Women  of  our  Revolution,  in  the  actual  struggle  for  national  freedom, 
Jisignificant,  or  undeserving  our  meed  of  gratitude  and  praise.  We  are  proud  to 
ecord  our  testimonial  of  their  worth,  and  sincerely  regret  that  the  record  of  so  many 
has  passed  away  forever. 

Mrs.  ADAMS,  the  wife  of  John  Adams,  second  President  of  the  United  Slates,  was 
the  daughter  of  Rev.  William  Smith,  of  Wey mouth,  and,  both  in  the  maternal  and 
paternal  line,  of  regular  puritanic  descent.  Her  scholastic  education  was  deficient ; 
she  "  never  having  attended  any  school  in  her  life,"  according  to  her  own  testimony. 


T2  MRS.    JOHN    ADAMS. 

It  was  under  the  wise  and  faithful  instructions  of  her  maternal  grandfather,  Colonel 
John  Quincy,  and  his  accomplished  and  excellent  wife,  that  her  mind  seems  to  have 
expanded  into  unwonted  maturity.  In  later  life,  she  speaks  of  her  residence  in  this 
family  with  enthusiastic  thanks.  "  I  have  not  forgotten,"  she  writes  to  her  daughter, 
in  1795,  "  the  excellent  lessons  which  I  received  from  my  grandmother ;  "  and  again, 
in  1808,  "  I  cherish  her  memory  with  holy  veneration,  whose  maxims  I  have  treas- 
ured up,  whose  virtues  live  in  my  remembrance ;  happy  if  I  could  say,  they  have 
been  transplanted  into  my  life." 

Near  the  completion  of  her  twentieth  year,  on  the  25th  of  October,  1764,  she  was 
married  to  John  Adams,  then  a  lawyer  in  the  small  town  of  Braintree,  now  Quincy. 
For  the  space  of  ten  years,  her  life  passed  in  quiet  happiness  and  domestic  tranquil- 
lity. When  the  needs  of  the  country  demanded  the  services  of  her  husband,  who 
had  already  become  prominent  as  a  defender  of  his  country,  the  scene  changed. 
Severe  were  the  labors  of  that  trying  hour,  and  all  true  men  and  women  were  called 
upon  to  bear  their  portion  of  them.  Mrs.  Adams  was  of  a  temper  not  to  shrink 
from  her  allotted  share.  With  a  cheerful  zeal,  and  a  calm  serenity,  she  discharged 
her  household  duties,  and  the  business  which  her  husband  was  obliged  to  abandon 
to  her  care.  In  the  midst  of  dreadful  alarms  of  battles,  and  the  most  anxious 
solicitude  for  her  husband's  safety,  with  pestilence  ravaging  her  household,  —  herself 
also  a  victim,  —  she  writes,  "  I  am  distressed,  but  not  dismayed.  I  have  been  able 
to  maintain  a  calmness  and  presence  of  mind,  and  I  hope  I  shall,  let  the  exigency 
of  the  times  be  what  it  will."  Her  letters,  during  this  period,  present  a  most  vivid 
picture  of  those  days  of  peril  and  glory,  as  well  as  of  the  domestic  scenes  of  her 
own  and  her  neighbors'  households. 

In  1778,  Mr.  Adams  was  sent  abroad,  whither,  in  1784,  he  was  followed  by  his 
consort.  In  her  new  relations  abroad,  she  exhibited  the  same  nobility  of  nature  as 
she  had  done  in  her  humbler  condition,  and  won  for  herself  the  spontaneous  homage 
of  all  great  minds.  Her  letters,  during  her  absence,  are  full  of  interesting  facts  and 
sharp  analyses  of  men  and  society.  She  returned  home  on  the  adoption  of  the  Con- 
stitution ;  and,  on  the  retirement  of  Washington,  Mr.  Adams  succeeded  to  the  pres- 
idency by  a  bare  majority,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  most  bitter  and  heated  political 
controversy  this  country  has  ever  known.  The  position  of  Mrs.  Adams  was  a  trying 
one,  and  she  demeaned  herself  with  a  dignity  and  firmness  which,  if  it  did  not  dis- 
arm prejudice,  awakened  the  admiration  of  all. 

The  latter  portion  of  the  life  of  Mrs.  Adams  was  spent  in  the  peaceful  enjoyment 
of  an  affluent  and  happy  home,  amidst  the  early  and  cherished  scenes  and  haunts 
of  childhood.  She  died  at  Quincy,  beloved  and  respected  by  all  who  knew  her,  on 
the  28th  of  October,  1818,  at  the  age  of  seventy-four. 


MAJOR    GENERAL    ISRAEL    PUTNAM. 


A  MONG  the  brave  men  who  fought  the  early  battles  of  our  country,  none 
XlL  were  braver  than  Putnam.  He  was  of  a  kind  and  peaceful  nature,  never 
creating  or  causing  a  broil;  but  when  roused  by  insult  or  injustice,  his  lion  heart 
leaped  to  his  hand,  and  his  blows  on  the  heads  of  wrong-doers  fell  "  fast  and 
furious."  When  a  mere  boy,  being  insulted  by  another  and  much  larger  and  older 
boy,  on  account  of  his  rustic  appearance,  he  challenged  and  whipped  the  offender, 
greatly  to  the  delight  of  a  crowd  of  lookers-on.  And  what  schoolboy  has  not  read 
the  thrilling  story  of  "Old  Put"  and  the  wolf? 

He  served  in  the  old  French  and  Indian  war,  in  which  his  whole  career  teemed 
with  acts  of  romantic  chivalry.  We  cannot  relate  all  his  hardships,  hair-breadth 
escapes,  and  wonderful  feats.  The  following  must  suffice:  — 

In  1757,  while  Putnam  bore  the  rank  of  major,  he  was  ordered,  in  company 
with  the  intrepid  Major  Rogers,  with  a  detachment  of  several  hundred  men,  to 
watch  the  movements  of  the  enemy,  who  were  encamped  near  Ticonderoga.  Being 
discovered,  he  was  compelled,  with  his  command,  to  retreat  through  the  forest  on 
Fort  Edward.  He  had  not  gone  far  when  he  fell  upon  an  ambush  of  about  five 
hundred  French  and  Indians.  Taken  by  surprise,  Putnam  halted  his  troops,  and 


74  MAJOR     GENERAL    ISRAEL    PUTNAM. 

returned  the  fire  of  his  enemy.  He  had  just  crossed  a  creek,  and  knew  that  he 
could  not  retreat  with  safety.  Encouraging  his  men,  they  held  their  ground,  and 
the  battle  became  general,  and  waxed  hot.  In  the  early  part  of  the  fray,  Putnam 
had  become  separated  from  the  body,  and  found  himself  compelled  to  defend  him- 
self against  several  savages  at  once.  Thrice  had  he  slain  his  antagonist,  and  his 
fusee  was  pressed  against  the  breast  of  another  stalwart  savage,  who  was  rushing 
on  him,  when  it  missed  fire.  The  Indian,  with  an  exulting  yell,  leaped  on  his 
victim,  with  uplifted  tomahawk,  when  Putnam  surrendered  at  discretion.  His 
master  immediately  bound  him  to  a  tree,  and  joined  in  the  melee  once  more. 
While  thus  bound,  a  brutal  Frenchman  discovered  him,  and,  pressing  his  musket 
to  his  side,  attempted  to  discharge  it;  but  it  missed  fire.  After  beating  him  cruelly 
in  the  face  with  the  but  of  his  musket,  he  left  him.  Just  at  that  instant  a  solitary 
young  Indian  discovered  his  defenceless  position,  and  amused  himself  by  hurling 
his  tomahawk  into  the  tree  close  to  his  head  on  either  side. 

In  the  course  of  the  fight,  the  combatants  so  changed  their  ground  that  Major 
Putnam  was  exactly  between  them  for  some  time,  the  balls  from  both  sides  striking 
the  tree,  and  riddling  his  clothes.  At  the  close  of  the  fight,  he  was  unbound  by 
his  master  and  led  into  captivity.  Here  his  sufferings  commenced.  He  was 
obliged  to  travel  barefoot,  and  loaded  much  beyond  his  strength.  Each  night 
he  was  bound  and  guarded  beyond  the  possibility  of  escape.  He  was  treated  with 
great  cruelty,  and  nearly  starved,  the  savages  taking  special  delight  in  torturing  him 
in  every  conceivable  way.  At  length  a  council  of  war  was  held,  and  it  was  deter- 
mined to  burn  him  alive.  He  was  bound  to  a  sapling,  and  dry  fagots  and  pitch- 
wood  were  piled  high  around  him,  and  set  on  fire.  He  was  so  bound  that  he  could 
move  round  the  tree;  the  savages,  with  hellish  delight,  exulting  in  his  vain  endeavors 
to  escape  the  flames,  which  were  beginning  to  scorch  his  flesh.  Poor  Putnam  now 
gave  up  all  hope,  and  made  up  his  mind  to  die  like  a  hero,  when  a  sudden  shower 
of  rain  dampened  the  flames.  Just  at  this  moment,  his  master,  who  had  been  sep- 
arated from  his  party  for  a  few  days,  made  his  appearance,  and,  claiming  his  prize, 
scattered  the  burning  brands,  and  unbound  his  prisoner,  thus  saving  him  from  the 
most  excruciating  death. 

His  master,  who,  Indian  as  he  was,  had  some  sparks  of  humanity  in  his  savage 
breast,  dressed  his  wounds,  fed  him,  put  some  moccasons  on  his  feet,  and  a 
blanket  over  his  shoulders,  and  protected  him  from  the  insults  and  cruelties  of  his 
enemies  during  the  remainder  of  the  march.  At  night,  he  was  stretched  upon  his 
back,  on  the  ground,  his  hands  and  feet  bound  to  four  saplings  as  far  asunder  as 
his  limbs  could  be  stretched.  Across  him  long  poles  were  laid,  on  each  end  of  which 
several  Indians  stretched  themselves  before  they  went  to  sleep.  In  this  painful  sit- 
uation he  did  not  lose -his  fortitude,  and  often,  as  he  afterwards  said,  amused  him- 
self with  the  ludicrousness  of  his  situation,  and  could  not  forbear  smiling  as  he 
imagined  himself  and  his  tawny  masters  a  rich  subject  for  the  pencil  of  a  Hogarth. 

But  he  survived  all  his  trials  and  exposures,  and  was  at  length  exchanged,  with 
others,  and  lived  to  fight  other  battles  for  his  country,  and,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  to 
retire  to  his  farm,  and  live  to  a  good  old  age,  to  die  in  peace  and  Christian  hope. 

General  Putnam  was  born  in  Salem,  Massachusetts,  January  7,  1718,  and  died  at 
Brooklyn,  Connecticut,  May  29,  1790,  aged  seventy-two  years. 


MAJOR    GENERAL    JAMES    WOLFE. 


rr^HIS  intrepid  and  gallant  young  officer,  over  whose  sad  fate  so  many  eyes  have 
JL  moistened,  held,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  the  rank  of  major  general  in  the  British 
army.  He  was  born  in  Westerham,  Kent  county,  England,  January  2,  1727.  He 
early  turned  his  thoughts  to  the  army,  and,  before  he  was  twenty,  was  already  accus- 
tomed to  the  smell  of  the  "  villanous  saltpetre."  He  held  a  commission  in  the  expe- 
dition against  Louisburg,  and  was  in  nearly  every  battle  fought  in  that  Germanic 
war.  At  the  peace  of  Aix  la  Chapelle,  he  returned  to  England,  and,  receiving  a 
major  general's  commission,  immediately  joined  an  expedition  against  Canada, 
then  held  by  the  French.  Late  in  June,  1759,  he  landed  at  Orleans,  an  island  in 
the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Quebec. 

The  French  forces  were  concentrated  at  this  point,  and  were  under  the  command 
of  General  Montcalm,  a  brave  and  accomplished  officer,  and  of  a  high  lineage  in 
France.  He  was  strongly  posted,  and  considered  his  position  wholly  impreg- 
nable. Wolfe  commenced  offensive  operations  by  attacking  the  French  intrench- 
ments  on  the  left  bank  of  the  St.  Charles.  He  was  repulsed  with  loss.  Perceiving 
that  nothing  could  be  effected  unless  the  heights,  on  which  the  town  was  built,  could 
be  attained,  he  resolved  to  make  the  perilous  attempt.  With  herculean  labor  and 

6 


<6  MAJOR    GENERAL    JAMES    WOLFE. 

consummate  skill  this  was  achieved,  and  nothing  was  left  for  Montcalm  but  to  fly 
or  fight.  lie  resolved  to  give  battle  to  the  English  ;  a  battle  upon  which  was  to 
hang  the  fate  of  Quebec,  and  the  question  whether  French  or  English  rale  should 
sway  the  future  destinies  of  the  Canadas.  He  immediately  marched  to  the  conflict, 
(Tossing  the  St.  Charles,  and  showing  his  bristling  front  on  the  ever-memorable 
4i  Plains  of  Abraham."  The  charge  was  impetuous,  and  well  maintained;  but  the 
British  sustained  the  shock  with  undaunted  firmness.  The  fight  was  sanguinary 
and  brief.  Early  in  the  action,  General  Wolfe  received  a  bullet  in  his  wrist.  Hastily 
wrapping  a  handkerchief  around  it,  he  continued  to  lead  the  fray  and  animate  his 
troops.  Quickly  after  he  received  another  shot  in  the  groin.  This  he  concealed 
from  his  soldiers,  and  continued  to  command  as  before.  But  he  was  a  marked  target 
for  a  few  Canadians  who  had  concealed  themselves  on  the  left;  and  immediately 
after,  whilst  charging  the  French  at  the  head  of  his  grenadiers,  he  received  a  third 
bullet  in  the  breast,  and  fell  on  the  field  of  combat  mortally  wounded.  At  that  mo- 
ment he  forgot  himself,  and  thought  only  of  the  issue  of  the  battle.  "  Support  me," 
he  said  to  an  officer  near  at  hand  ;  "  let  not  my  brave  soldiers  see  me  drop.  The 
day  is  ours,  —  keep  it."  He  was  taken  to  the  rear,  where  he  anxiously  inquired, 
"How  goes  the  battle?"  "They  run,  they  run!"  exclaimed  the  officer.  "Who 
runs  ?  "  he  inquired,  with  great  enthusiasm.  "  The  enemy,  sir,"  was  the  gratifying 
reply;  "they  give  way  everywhere."  "Now,  God  be  praised,"  was  his  exultant 
response,  "  I  die  happy  !  "  He  never  spoke  again,  and  almost  immediately  expired 
in  the  arms  of  his  heart-broken  officers,  who  loved  him  as  a  man,  and  gloried  in  him 
as  a  leader. 

The  brave  and  gallant  Montcalm  fell  at  the  same  time,  and  the  spirits  of  the  two 
Chivalrous  warriors  went  up  together,  in  the  same  chariot  of  fire,  to  those  "  Plains  of 
Abraham  "  where  battles  never  are  waged.  The  remains  of  the  victorious  W'olfe 
were  carried  to  England,  and  deposited  in  Westminster  Abbey,  where  a  monument 
was  erected  to  his  memory  :  those  of  the  vanquished  Montcalm  were  thrown  into 
a  pit,  on  the  battle  field,  made  by  the  explosion  of  a  shell,  and  lie  there  until  this 
day.  What  a  comment  on  war  !  —  civilized,  Christian  war  ! 

General  Wolfe  was  the  true  type  of  a  gentleman-soldier.  Urbane  and  gracious, 
full  of  benevolence,  seeking  out  the  objects  of  charity  in  his  camp,  he  conciliated 
his  men,  while  by  his  strict  discipline  he  prevented  many  of  the  evils  incident  to 
large  military  bodies.  His  clear,  quick  apprehension,  his  sound  judgment  and 
daring  courage,  eminently  fitted  him  to  be  a  leader.  He  won  the  confidence  of  his 
troops  at  once,  and  they  felt  almost  certain  that  to  follow  his  lead  was  to  insure  a 
victory.  His  many  manly  virtues  and  his  tragical  fate  have  been  the  theme  of  song 
and  prose,  and  will  continue  to  be  while  the  glory  of  battle  is  said  or  sung. 


- 


MAJOR    GENERAL    RICHARD    MONTGOMERY 


M 


AJOR  GENERAL  RICHARD  MONTGOMERY  was  born  in  the  north 
of  Ireland,  in  1737.  Possessed  of  a  brilliant  genius,  and  a  highly-cultivated 
mind,  he  entered  the  English  army,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty,  with  considerable 
eclat  He  fought  side  by  side  with  Wolfe,  at  the  taking  of  Quebec  —  a  place  so 
singularly  destined  to  witness  his  first  and  his  last  battles.  On  his  return  to  Eng- 
land, he  decided  to  make  America  his  home  ;  and,  marrying  a  daughter  of  Robert 
R.  Livingston,  he  settled  down  upon  the  North  River  as  an  American  citizen. 

On  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution,  he  took  sides  with  his  adopted  country, 
and  became  a  devoted  patriot.  With  a  brigadier's  commission,  he  joined  the  expe- 
dition against  Quebec,  in  the  winter  of  1775,  under  General  Schuyler,  where  he  soon 
assumed  the  command,  in  consequence  of  the  illness  of  his  superior,  and  was  hon- 
ored with  the  commission  of  major  general.  In  this  arduous  campaign,  his  brilliant 
military  talents  fully  developed  themselves. 

.At  the  head  of  a  well-disciplined  and  well-appointed  army,  brilliant  deeds  are 
expected  of  its  commander  ;  but  when  these  bright  feats  of  arms  are  exhibited  by 
such  an  army  as  the  gallant  Montgomery  commanded,  we  cannot  withhold  our 
tribute  of  admiration  for  the  noble  spirits  who  direct  its  movements.  True,  those 


78  MAJOR    GENERAL    RICHARD    MONTGOMERY. 

soldiers  were  brave  men,  fighting  for  liberty  and  their  homes,  but  they  were  destitute 
of  almost  all  else  that  constitutes  the  magazines  of  war.  Half  clad,  half  fed,  shoe- 
less, and  nearly  destitute  of  artillery,  at  midwinter,  in  the  severest  climate  in  the 
world,  overwhelmed  with  nearly  daily  avalanches  of  snow  from  the  exhaustless 
clouds,  it  required  the  genius,  the  prompt  and  noble  daring  of  Montgomery  to  lead 
such  a  forlorn  hope  to  victory.  Thrice  —  at  St.  John's,  Chambly,  and  Montreal  — 
had  his  undisciplined  and  mutinous  troops  achieved  a  triumph  through  the  genius 
of  their  leader ;  and  it  only  wanted  that  Quebec  should  be  added,  to  make  the  list 
of  his  conquests  complete.  Every  thing  combined  to  oppose  his  success.  Whole 
companies  deserted,  and  the  remainder  of  the  invading  army  became  so  mutinous 
and  turbulent,  that  even  Montgomery,  beloved  and  feared  as  he  was,  nearly  lost  all 
control  of  them.  The  snow,  which  had  been  falling  incessantly  for  several  days, 
was  piled  into  large  drifts  by  furious  gales,  and  the  cold  was  most  intense.  Yet 
nothing  cooled  the  ardor  of  Montgomery.  He  determined  to  attack  the  garrison, 
greatly  his  superiors  in  number  and  force.  Covered  by  a  heavy  fall  of  snow,  he 
advanced  to  the  assault.  A  battery  of  three  guns  had  been  placed  so  as  to  command 
the  narrow  pass  through  which  the  American  army  was  defiling.  Already  had  the 
enemy  discovered,  dimly,  through  the  veil  of  snow,  the  movements  of  the  intrepid 
Montgomery,  while  his  clear  voice  was  heard,  like  the  tones  of  a  trumpet,  encour- 
aging his  troops  — "  Men  of  New  York!  you  will  not  fear  to  follow  where  your  gen- 
eral leads.  March  on  ! "  Shouts  answered  this  bold  appeal,  and  as  he  leaped 
forward  over  piles  of  broken  ice  and  rock,  and  drifted  snow,  his  soldiers  trod  close 
upon  his  heels.  At  that  instant,  when  within  fifty  paces  of  the  battery,  it  opened 
directly  in  their  faces,  and  poured  such  a  torrent  of  grape,  that  the  brave-hearted 
Montgomery,  together  with  both  his  aids,  and  many  of  his  men,  was  instantly  an- 
nihilated. Terrified  at  the  awful  havoc,  and  the  loss  of  their  beloved  general,  the 
rest  incontinently  fled.  The  death  of  Montgomery  was  the  token  of  defeat,  and  no 
other  name  was  sufficient  to  rouse  the  broken  and  discomfited  ranks  of  the  American 
army,  and  shortly  after  they  surrendered  themselves  prisoners  of  war. 

The  death  of  this  brave  officer  threw  a  gloom  over  the  whole  country.  Congress 
voted  its  honors,  and  a  monument  to  his  memory.  This  vote  was  subsequently  car- 
ried into  execution,  and  a  beautifully  chaste  monument  of  white  marble  erected  in 
front  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  with  the  following  inscription  :  — 

This 
monument  is  erected  by  order  of  Congress, 

25th  of  January,  1776, 
to  transmit  to  posterity  a  grateful  remembrance  of  the  patriotic  conduct, 

enterprise,  and  perseverance  of 

Major  General  RICHARD  MONTGOMERY, 

who,  after  a  series  of  successes  amidst  the  most  discouraging 

difficulties,  Fell  in  the  attack  on 
QUEBEC,  31st  December,  1775,  aged  37  years. 


MAJOR    GENERAL    BENJAMIN    LINCOLN. 


BENJAMIN  LINCOLN— an  heroic  officer  of  the  Revolution,  a  skilful  diploma- 
tist, and  a  ready  debater  in  the  councils  of  his  country  —  was  born  in  Hingham, 
near  Boston,  on  the  23d  of  January,  1733. 

When  the  revolutionary  war  commenced,  Lincoln  was  a  lieutenant  colonel  under 
commission  from  Governor  Hutchinson.  He  unhesitatingly  threw  himself  into  the 
cause  of  the  colonists,  and,  in  1775,  was  elected  member  of  the  Provincial  Congress, 
and  by  that  body  appointed  one  of  its  secretaries,  and  a  member  of  the  committee 
of  correspondence.  In  1776,  he  received  the  appointment  of  brigadier,  and  soon 
after  that  of  major  general,  and  the  following  year  entered  the  continental  army,  in 
the  same  grade,  by  appointment  of  Congress,  and,  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year, 
joined  the  northern  army,  under  Schuyler.  He  rendered  valuable  service  in  that 
trying  campaign,  and  signalized  himself  in  both  of  the  battles  on  the  plains  of  Sar- 
atoga, which  proved  so  disastrous  to  Burgoyne.  He  was  so  severely  wounded  in 
the  fight  of  the  7th  of  October,  that  he  was  obliged  to  leave  the  army  and  return 
home.  He  rejoined  the  army,  "  to  the  great  joy  of  Washington,  who  duly  appre- 
ciated his  valuable  services,"  in  the  following  August.  He  was  immediately  sent  to 
the  south,  to  assume  command  of  the  army  in  that  quarter ;  which,  on  his  arrival  at 


FO  MAJOR    GENERAL    BENJAMIN    LINCOLN. 

Charleston,  in  December,  1778,  he  found  in  the  most  miserably  destitute  and  disor- 
derly condition.  But  such  were  the  indefatigable  industry  and  diplomatic  energy  of 
the  commander,  that,  in  June  following,  he  found  himself  able  to  take  the  field  and 
commence  offensive  operations,  though  with  small  success. 

On  the  19th  of  June,  General  Lincoln  attacked  a  garrison  of  the  enemy  strongly 
posted  at  Stono  Ferry,  which  was  followed  by  the  chivalrous  attack  on  Savannah 
in  conjunction  with  the  impetuous  D'Estaing.  In  both  these  actions,  the  Americans 
were  compelled  to  retire  with  a  heavy  loss.  At  Charleston,  which  place  he  under- 
took to  defend  against  the  siege  and  blockade  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton's  army  of  nine 
thousand  men,  he  was  equally  unsuccessful,  and,  after  a  brave  resistance  of  more 
than  two  months,  was  compelled  to  capitulate  and  render  up  the  city  and  the  army 
under  his  command. 

Such  was  the  popularity  of  General  Lincoln  with  the  army,  and  the  whole  coun- 
try, that  their  confidence  was  not  abated  in  any  degree  ;  for  when,  on  being  ex- 
changed, in  1781,  he  rejoined  the  army,  he  was  sent  to  cooperate  once  more  with  the 
southern  army,  and  had  the  high  satisfaction  of  aiding  in  the  reduction  of  Yorktown, 
and  of  conducting  the  defeated  army  to  the  field  where  they  were  to  lay  down  then- 
arms  at  the  feet  of  the  illustrious  Washington. 

Immediately  on  the  close  of  the  war,  General  Lincoln  was  appointed  Secretary 
of  War,  retaining  his  rank  in  the  army.  He  resigned  the  office  in  1783,  and  received 
the  thanks  of  Congress  for  his  patriotic  military  and  civil  services.  He  now  retired 
to  his  farm,  where  he  passed  his  time  in  agricultural  and  literary  pursuits  until 
1786-7,  when  he  once  more  took  the  field  to  quell  the  famous  Shays's  insurrection. 
Having  triumphantly  accomplished  this,  he  once  more  sought  the  seclusion  of  his 
home,  and,  although  called  repeatedly  to  the  discharge  of  various  public  duties,  he 
passed  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  comparative  quiet  and  happiness. 

General  Lincoln  held  the  post  of  lieutenant  governor,  was  a  member  of  the  con- 
vention called  to  ratify  the  new  constitution,  and  for  many  years  was  collector  of 
the  port  of  Boston,  besides  filling  many  minor  offices.  He  received  from  Har- 
vard University  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts,  was  a  member  of  the  American  Acad- 
emy of  Arts  and  Sciences,  as  well  as  of  the  Massachusetts  Horticultural  Society, 
and  was  president  of  the  Society  of  Cincinnati  from  its  organization  to  the  day  of 
his  death.  In  all  these,  as  well  as  his  private  relations,  he  was  trusted,  respected, 
beloved.  He  closed  his  honorable  and  useful  life  in  the  seventy-eighth  year  of  his 
age,  at  Hingham,  on  the  9th  of  May,  1810. 


FISHER    AMES. 


AMES,  so  widely  known  as  an  eloquent  orator  and  distinguished 
JL  statesman,  was  born  in  Dedham,  Massachusetts,  on  the  9th  of  April,  1758. 
He  sprung  from  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  respectable  families  in  the  ancient  com- 
monwealth. His  father  was  a  physician  of  some  celebrity  in  Dedham.  In  1774 
he  was  graduated  at  Harvard  College,  Cambridge,  Massachusetts.  Having  com- 
pleted his  academic  course  with  much  credit  to  himself,  he  determined  on  the  study 
of  law,  and  opened  an  office  in  his  native  village  in  the  autumn  of  1781. 

Although  young  Ames  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  stirring  scenes  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  sympathized,  with  his  whole  heart,  with  the  patriots,  he  was  too  young  to 
take  any  active  part  in  them.  When  he  came  to  man's  estate,  he  retained  his  in- 
terest in  the  growth  and  progress  of  the  young  states,  and  was  early  called  by  his 
fellow-citizens  to  take  part  in  the  councils  of  his  native  town  and  state,  as  well  as 
of  those  of  the  nation.  Besides  the  publication  of  many  striking  articles  in  the 
journals  of  the  day,  in  which  the  affairs  of  the  nation  were  so  skilfully  discussed  as 
to  give  evidence  of  a  very  thorough  knowledge  of  the  science  of  government  and 
politic?,  an  opportunity  was  afforded  in  the  convention  called  in  his  native  stale., 
"  for  the  consideration  and  ratification  of  the  Federal  Constitution,"  and  of  which  in- 


^2  FISHER    AMES. 

was  chosen  a  member,  for  a  more  striking  display  of  his  oratorical  powers,  and  the 
brilliancy  of  his  genius.  The  speeches  he  delivered  in  this  convention  took  his 
friends  and  the  world  by  surprise,  and  at  once  established  his  reputation  as  one  of 
the  ablest  and  most  eloquent  debaters  of  that  day. 

When  at  length,  in  1789,  the  general  government  of  the  United  States  went  into 
operation  under  the  Federal  Constitution,  Mr.  Ames  was  elected  a  member  of  Con- 
gress from  his  native  district,  retaining  his  seat  through  the  whole  of  Washington's 
administration,  of  which  he  was  an  able  and  efficient  supporter.  During  the  whole 
time  Mr.  Ames  was  in  Congress,  he  was  one  of  the  most  efficient  debaters  of  the 
important  questions  which  came  before  that  body.  With  a  comprehensive  insight 
of  the  subject  in  hand,  greatly  superior  to  many  older  and  more  experienced  legis- 
lators, his  eloquent  reasoning  made  the  rough  places  smooth,  and  carried  conviction 
to  the  heart  and  judgment  of  those  who  listened  to  him.  When,  towards  the  close 
of  the  last  session  of  which  he  was  a  member,  the  question  relative  to  the  appropri- 
ations necessary  to  carry  into  effect  the  British  treaty  was  the  subject  of  debate 
before  the  house,  Mr.  Ames,  although  in  a  very  feeble  state  of  health,  made  such  an 
overwhelming  argument  that  the  opposition  begged  that  the  vote  might  not  then  be 
taken,  as  the  effect  of  his  speech  was  such  as  to  unfit  the  members  to  vote  dispas- 
sionately. What  a  tribute  to  his  eloquence  and  reasoning  powers ! 

This  was  the  last  great  effort  of  his  life ;  and,  feeling  that  it  would  be,  he  made 
such  touching  allusion  "  to  his  own  slender  and  almost  broken  thread  of  life,"  that 
his  audience  was  visibly  affected ;  and  he  was  so  much  exhausted  with  the  effort 
that  his  friends  feared  that  it  might  greatly  accelerate  his  disease. 

At  the  close  of  the  session,  Mr.  Ames  travelled  at  the  South,  and  visited  several 
of  the  watering-places  in  Virginia,  by  which  his  health  was  considerably  benefited. 
About  this  time,  the  College  of  New  Jersey  conferred  on  him  the  title  of  Doctor  of 
Laws.  Declining  to  be  a  candidate  for  reelection,  he  retired  to  his  paternal  acres, 
where,  with  the  exception  of  consenting  to  serve  a  few  years  as  a  member  of  the 
council,  he  remained  a  private  citizen  to  the  close  of  his  life. 

A  few  years  before  his  decease,  he  was  chosen  President  of  Harvard  University, 
but  declined  the  honor  on  account  of  his  health.  Indeed,  his  disease  had  so  preyed 
on  his  constitution  that  he  found  himself  compelled  to  give  up  entirely  the  duties 
of  his  profession,  solacing  himself  with  the  oversight  of  his  farm,  and  the  pleasures 
of  society  and  of  home.  Here,  beloved  and  respected  by  all,  sustained  and  cheered 
by  an  unclouded  Christian  faith,  he  waited  for  the  approach  of  death,  and  went,  at 
last, 

"  Like  one  who  wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch 
About  him,  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams." 


MAJOR  GENERAL  ANTHONY  WAYNE. 


A  NTHONY  WAYNE  —  "  Mad  Anthony,"  as  he  was  familiarly  called  in  the 
-Z\-  army,  on  account  of  his  reckless,  headlong  courage  —  whose  grandfather  com- 
manded a  company  of  dragoons  at  the  battle  of  Boyne,  and  whose  father  exhibited 
great  sagacity  and  bravery  in  many  engagements  with  the  savages  which  prowled 
about  his  cradle-home,  was  born  in  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  first  day  of 
the  year  1745.  He  never  had  much  taste  for  severe  study,  although  he  took  kindly 
to  mathematics,  and,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  he  left  the  academy  at  Philadelphia, 
and  entered  upon  the  business  of  surveying.  Entering  warmly  into  the  controversy 
of  the  colonies  with  the  mother  country,  he  became  an  ardent  patriot,  and  soon  had 
the  first  wish  of  his  heart  gratified  by  a  military  commission.  In  1775,  he  raised  a 
regiment  of  volunteers,  and  was  chosen  its  colonel.  The  next  year,  he  received  the 
appointment  of  colonel  from  the  Continental  Congress,  and  was  placed  at  the  head 
of  one  of  the  Pennsylvania  regiments,  with  which  he  joined  the  northern  army, 
fought,  and  was  severely  wounded,  at  the  battle  of  the  "  Three  Rivers,"  received  a 
brigadier's  commission  in  1777,  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  Ticonderoga, 
and,  in  the  spring  following,  joined  Washington  in  New  Jersey. 

On  the  llth  and  16th  of  September,  on  the  field  of  Brandywine,  battle  was  had 


84:  MAJOR    GENERAL    ANTHONY     WAYNE. 

for  a  noble  prize  between  the  American  and  English  armies.  That  prize  was  the 
city  of  Philadelphia.  Wayne  led  the  advance  on  the  occasion,  and  suffered  the 
chagrin  of  seeing  the  city  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  At  Germantown,  also, 
he  fought  wHh  bravery  and  prudence,  but  was  compelled  to  retreat  before  a  superior 
force.  While  our  army  lay  in  winter  quarters  at  Valley  Forge,  Wayne  was  sent 
into  New  Jersey  to  forage,  which  duty  he  performed  to  the  delight  of  his  com- 
mander, and  the  surprise  of  the  enemy,  from  under  whose  very  nose  he  succeeded 
in  carrying  off  large  supplies  of  cattle  and  forage.  It  was  of  this  expedition,  and 
its  leader,  that  the  witty  Andre  employed  the  satire  of  his  pen  in  a  song  set  to  the 
music  of  "  Yankee  Doodle."  The  last  stanzas  of  this  philippic  ran  thus  :  — 

"  But  now,  I  end  my  lyric  strain  — 

I  tremble  as  I  show  it, 
Lest  this  same  warrior- drover,  Wayne, 
Should  ever  catch  the  poet." 

Singularly  enough,  when  Andre  was  taken,  he  was  delivered  into  the  hands  of  this 
same  "  warrior-drover." 

We  next  find  Wayne  at  Stony  'Point,  which,  by  a  well-devised  and  promptly- 
executed  stratagem,  he  assaulted  and  carried,  killing  sixty-three,  and  taking  five 
hundred  and  forty-three,  of  the  enemy.  In  the  assault,  he  received  a  shot  in  the 
knee,  and  fell.  Rising  instantly  on  one.  knee,  he  exclaimed,  "  Forward,  my  brave 
fellows,  forward !  "  For  this  valuable  service,  Congress  voted  him  thanks. 

In  January,  1781,  the  Pennsylvania  army  revolted,  and,  parading  without  officers, 
seized  the  camion,  ammunition,  and  provisions,  and  determined  to  march  to  Congress, 
in  a  body,  to  present  their  grievances.  Wayne  presented  himself,  and  tried  all  in 
his  power  to  quell  the  revolt  by  words  of  kindness  and  threatening.  Finding  that 
he  produced  no  effect  on  them,  he  drew  his  pistols,  and  swore  he  would  shoot  the 
first  man  who  moved.  The  soldiers  presented  their  muskets,  and  answered  him 
thus  :  "  We  respect  and  love  you  ;  you  have  often  led  us  to  the  battle  field ;  but  you 
are  our  leader  no  longer.  Dare  but  to  discharge  your  pistols,  and  you  are  instantly 
a  dead  man.  We  are  still  attached  to  the  cause,  and  are  ready  to  meet  the  enemy 
in  the  breach  ;  but  we  will  have  redress"  For  their  insubordination  they  were  dis- 
missed, with  disgrace,  from  the  service,  and  the  ringleaders  punished. 

Wayne  then  went  to  Virginia,  where  he  served  with  Washington  and  La  Fayette, 
and  witnessed  the  happy  conclusion  of  the  war  at  the  surrender  of  Yorktown.  After 
some  unimportant  services  rendered  at  the  south,  he  retired  to  private  life. 

The  Indians  on  our  north-western  frontier,  aided  by  the  British  and  tories,  had 
grown  insolent,  and  committed  the  most  wanton  ravages  and  cruelties  on  that  bor- 
der. Harmar,  St.  Clair,  and  other  brave  officers  had  yielded  to  their  savage  prowess. 
In  1792,  Wayne  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  north-western  army.  After 
much  manoeuvring,  he  succeeded  in  bringing  the  enemy  to  battle,  and  routed  them  with 
immense  slaughter,  the  Indian  force  being  twice  that  of  his  own.  This  brought  the 
savages  to  their  senses,  and,  after  holding  out  for  a  few  months,  they  at  length,  on 
the  3d  of  August,  1795,  signed  a  treaty  of  peace. 

In  the  winter  of  1796,  in  a  miserable  hut  at  Presque  Isle,  this  veteran  warrior,  in 
the  service  of  his  country,  breathed  his  last  in  the  arms  of  his  officers,  and  was 
buried  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie. 


BENEDICT    ARNOLD. 


THE  career  of  BENEDICT  ARNOLD  fills  one  of  the  most  mournfully  instructive 
pages  of  history.  With  talents  of  the  highest  cast,  it  was  in  his  power  to  have 
inscribed  his  name  high  on  that  list  of  worthies  who  will  claim  forever  the  love  and 
reverence  of  the  world.  A  selfish  ambition  was  his  destruction ;  and  because  his 
country  did  not  think  fit  to  gratify  it  to  its  full,  he  sought  to  sell  that  country  into 
perpetual  bondage.  He  thought,  too, 

"  good,  easy  man,  full  surely 
His  greatness  was  a-ripening ; " 

but  the  "killing  frost"  of  justice  "nipped  its  root,"  and  he  fell  to  depths  of  infamy 
which  none  but  Judas  Iscariot  before  had  ever  reached. 

Benedict  Arnold  was  born  in  Norwich,  Connecticut,  on  the  3d  of  January,  1740. 
He  was  bred  an  apothecary,  and  gave  early  evidence  of  the  genius  and  bravery 
which  afterwards  marked  his  career.  For  many  years,  he  was  a  druggist  in  New 
Haven,  and  commanded  a  volunteer  company  in  that  place  when  the  war  of  inde- 
pendence broke  out.  On  hearing  of  the  battle  of  Lexington,  he  marched  at  once  to 
Cambridge,  and  tendered  his  services  to  the  Massachusetts  Committee  of  Safety,  by 


86  BENEDICT    ARNOLD. 

whom  he  was  well  received,  and  immediately  authorized  to  raise  a  company  of  four 
hundred  men  for  the  reduction  of  Ticonderoga.  The  result  of  this  expedition  may 
be  learned  from  our  life  of  Ethan  Allen.  On  his  return,  in  the  fall  of  1775,  he  was  or- 
dered by  Washington,  with  a  force  of  one  thousand  men,  to  penetrate  the  wilderness 
of  the  then  "  District  of  Maine,"  to  Canada,  to  surprise  and  take  the  city  of  Quebec, 
and  reduce  the  Canadas.  The  accomplishment  of  this  perilous  march  was  highly 
creditable  to  the  military  genius  of  its  leader,  and,  although  the  great  object  of  the  cam- 
paign was  not  attained,  it  established  the  reputation  of  Arnold  as  a  skilful  and  heroic 
officer.  On  the  death  of  this  brave  officer,  the  command  devolved  on  Arnold,  and  he 
conducted  himself  with  great  bravery,  and  brought  success  to  the  American  arms,  as 
well  in  command  of  the  fleet  on  Lake  Champlain  as  in  the  relief  of  Fort  Schuyler, 
under  command  of  Colonel  Gansevoort,  which  was  invested  with  a  British  army  of 
eighteen  hundred  men,  under  Colonel  St.  Leger.  In  the  battle  of  Stillwater,  September 
19,  as  also  in  the  action  of  the  7th  of  October,  at  Bemis's  Heights,  he  conducted  him- 
self with  the  utmost  gallantry,  and  "  fought  like  a  devil  incarnate."  At  the  latter 
battle,  he  actually  assaulted  the  whole  length  of  the  enemy's  lines,  amidst  a  perfect 
hurricane  of  round  and  grape  shot;  and  when  at  length  the  intrenchments  were 
forced,  at  the  head  of  a  mere  handful  of  men  he  entered  the  works,  where  his  horse 
was  shot  from  under  him,  and  he  himself  badly  wounded  in  the  leg. 

This  was  the  last  active  service  of  Colonel  Arnold  in  behalf  of  the  American 
cause ;  and  had  that  unlucky  grape  selected  his  head,  —  instead  of  falling 

"  Like  a  bright  exhalation  in  the  evening, 
And  no  man  see  him  more,"  — 

his  sun  had  gone  down  in  glory,  and  his  memory  been  embalmed  in  millions  of 
grateful  hearts. 

Being  rendered  unfit  for  active  service,  he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the 
American  garrison  at  Philadelphia.  Here  his  infamous  conduct  commenced.  He 
lived  in  the  most  extravagant  manner,  confiscating  the  property  of  all  such  citizens 
as  he  suspected  of  tory  inclinations,  and  indulging  in  a  most  dissipated  and  licen- 
tious life.  Indeed,  his  habits  of  extravagance  had  always  been  a  trait  of  his  char- 
acter, and  had  reduced  him  to  bankruptcy  and  distress.  In  this  juncture,  he  sought 
the  aid  of  Congress ;  but  that  body,  for  reasons  satisfactory  to  themselves,  declined 
to  grant  his  prayer.  It  was  now  that  the  double  motive  of  cupidity  and  revenge 
stirred  his  unmanly  soul  to  "  the  great  and  damning  act "  by  which  he  fell.  He 
turned  his  eyes  to  West  Point,  as  the  best  theatre  for  carrying  on  his  infernal  schemes, 
and  asking,  obtained  the  command  of  that  important  point.  Here  he  corresponded 
and  bargained  with  the  enemy  for  the  delivery  of  that  valuable  fortress  into  their 
hands ;  and  which,  but  for  the  timely  discovery  of  the  treason  by  the  arrest  of  Major 
Andre,  would  doubtless  have  been  effected.  Andre  suffered,  while  the  arch  apostate 
escaped,  to  be  loaded  with  British  honors,  and  British  gold,  and  British  contempt, 
and  to  render  his  name  a  by-word  of  infamy,  and  his  memory  execrable  forever,  in 
all  the  world.  He  received  a  major  general's  commission  in  the  British  army,  and 
fought  against  his  country  with  some  success ;  and,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  retired 
to  England,  where  he  ppssed  most  of  his  time  in  neglected  retirement  until  his  death, 
which  occurred  on  the  14th  of  June,  1801.  Let  the  warning  on  his  tombstone  be, — 

"  Mark  but  my  fall,  and  that  that  ruined  me 


BENJAMIN    WEST. 


celebrated  painter  was  the  tenth  child  of  John  West  and  Sarah  Pearson, 
and  was  born  in  Chester  county,  Pennsylvania,  October  10, 1738.  His  parents 
were  Quakers.  Just  before  Benjamin  was  born,  Mrs.  West  was  greatly  affected  by 
the  preaching  of  a  celebrated  Quaker  preacher  of  that  age,  and,  relating  her  expe- 
rience to  him,  he  predicted  that  the  child  yet  to  be  born  would  become  eminent,  and 
solemnly  charged  the  father  to  be  very  careful  of  its  education.  His  genius  for  the 
art  in  which  he  became  so  distinguished  manifested  itself  at  the  early  age  of  six, 
when  he  drew  the  likeness  of  a  little  niece  of  his,  who  had  been  left  to  his  charge 
in  a  cradle,  which  was  instantly  recognized  by  his  delighted  mother ;  who,  remem- 
bering the  prediction  of  the  preacher,  already  seemed  to  see  its  fulfilment.  She 
eagerly  and  fondly  kissed  her  little  boy ;  and  he,  encouraged  by  such  rewards,  made 
rapid  progress.  In  speaking  of  this  circumstance,  Mr.  West  used  to  say,  "  That  kiss 
of  my  mother's  made  me  a  painter." 

Soon  after  this  event  he  was  put  to  school  in  the  neighborhood,  and  furnished 
with  pens  and  paper  to  amuse  himself  with  drawing,  none  of  his  friends  dreaming 
of  any  other  materials  being  necessary  for  that  purpose.  Here  he  became  acquainted 
with  some  Indians,  who,  being  struck  with  the  accuracy  of  his  drawings  of  birds  and 


8S  BENJAMIN    WEST. 

animals,  furnished  him  with  the  pigments  with  which  they  bedaubed  their  faces,  and 
taught  him  how  to  use  them.  To  this  his  mother  added  indigo,  and  his  studio  was 
furnished. 

Happening  to  hear  of  camel's  hair  pencils,  and  understanding  that  there  were  no 
camels  in  the  land,  he  substituted  the  tip  of  his  favorite  pussy's  tail,  and,  when  that 
was  worn  out,  the  hair  upon  her  back ;  until  a  fortunate  circumstance  put  him  in 
possession  of  what  he  so  much  coveted  —  a  regular  palette,  pencils,  and  a  box  of 
colors. 

We  dwell  on  these  early  incidents,  because  they  are  not  only  interesting  in  them- 
selves, as  furnishing  the  prophecy  of  the  painter's  future  triumph,  but  as  a  lesson  to 
parents  carefully  and  assiduously  to  nourish  the  first  germs  of  genius  in  their  off- 
spring. Many  a  great  man  has  been  crushed  in  embryo  by  the  dulness  or  petulance 
of  his  parents,  and  fallen  into  hopeless  mediocrity. 

The  early  manifestation  of  genius  in  young  West  gained  him  many  friends,  and 
his  way  was  thus  opened  to  the  great  world,  in  which  he  was  destined  to  make  such 
a  sensation.  His  progress  was  rapid,  and  all  the  details  of  it  interesting.  We 
regret  that  our  restricted  limits  will  not  allow  us  to  indulge  in  the  strong  desire  we 
have  to  lay  them  before  our  readers. 

Young  West  removed  to  Philadelphia  at  the  tender  age  of  eight,  and,  for  a  few 
years,  made  great  proficiency  under  the  tutelage  of  Provost  Smith.  His  first  his- 
torical piece,  the  "  Death  of  Socrates,"  was  produced  about  this  time.  His  father  was 
desirous  of  placing  him  in  business,  while  many  of  his  friends  thought  that  he  ought 
to  be  permitted  to  cultivate  his  taste  and  talent  for  painting.  These  judicious  friends 
at  length  prevailed,  and  the  world  has  occasion  to  rejoice  in  the  result. 

In  1759,  Mr.  West,  then  just  twenty-one,  embarked  for  Italy ;  arriving  at  Leghorn 
and  thence  journeying  to  Rome.  This  journey  was  enjoyed  by  our  artist  with  the 
greatest  zest ;  and  the  wonderful  works  of  art,  and  the  rich  exhibitions  of  nature, 
filled  his  soul  with  tumultuous  wonder  and  delight.  He  soon  made  himself  re- 
spected among  the  best  artists  of  Rome,  and  established  his  reputation  as  a  painter 
of  great  excellence.  By  the  advice  of  Mengs,  who  then  stood  at  the  head  of  the 
painters  in  Rome,  he  went  first  to  Florence,  thence  to  Bologna,  and  afterwards  to 
Venice,  meeting  with  favor  every  where.  After  a  brief  sojourn  in  Rome,  he  went  to 
England.  He  had  no  intention  of  remaining  here,  but  circumstances  determined 
him  to  change  his  plan,  and  he  set  up  his  easel  in  London.  Here  he  was  intro- 
duced to  the  youthful  monarch,  who  immediately  took  him  under  his  patronage. 
While  painting  his  "  Departure  of  Regulus,"  the  plan  of  the  "  Royal  Academy  of 
Fine  Arts  "  was  adopted.  Reynolds  was  chosen  its  first  president,  and  on  his  death, 
in  1791,  West  succeeded  to  the  chair,  and  presided  over  the  institution  until  his 
death,  in  1820,  with  the  exception  of  a  brief  interim,  in  which,  having  mixed  him- 
self up  rather  freely  with  French  politics,  he  lost  favor  at  court,  and  thought  best  to 
resign  his  office. 

Mr.  West  was  a  man  of  great  simplicity  of  manners,  credulous  and  confiding,  dil- 
igent and  temperate  in  his  habits,  and  of  a  decidedly  religious  turn  of  mind ;  and,  at 
the  age  of  eighty-one,  he  closed  his  eyes  on  mortality,  with  his  accustomed  cheerful- 
ness, and  with  all  his  mental  faculties  uneclipsed. 


MAJOR    JOHN    ANDRE. 


accomplished  and  unfortunate  young  British  officer  was  born  in  Eng- 
land,  in  1751.  He  entered  the  army  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  and  became  one 
of  Sir  Henry  Clinton's  aids  in  1776,  with  the  title  of  major.  When  the  traitor 
Arnold  proposed  to  deliver  up  West  Point  and  the  American  army  to  the  British, 
Andre  was  appointed  to  confer  with  Arnold,  and  settle  the  preliminaries  of  that 
damnable  treachery.  Under  the  name  of  Anderson,  he  passed  into  the  American 
lines,  and  consummated  the  treasonable  propositions  of  Arnold.  Being  disappointed 
of  returning  to  New  York  by  water,  he  obtained,  through  Arnold's  influence,  a  pass 
from  the  general  officer,  and  started  on  his  return.  He  had  passed,  in  perfect  se- 
curity, all  the  posts  and  guards  on  the  road,  and  was  proceeding  to  New  York  in 
triumph,  when,  on  the  23d  of  September,  one  of  three  American  militiamen,  who 
acted  as  a  scouting  party,  sprung  suddenly  from  his  covert  and  seized  his  bridle,  or- 
dering him  to  halt.  This  was  so  unlocked  for,  that  Andre  lost  his  self-possession, 
and  inquired  hastily  of  the  soldier,  "  Where  do  you  belong  ?  "  "  Below,"  was  the 
equivocal  reply.  "  So  do  I,"  returned  Andre.  "  I  am  a  British  officer,  and  I  trust 
you  will  allow  me  to  proceed  without  detention,  as  I  am  on  important  business."  A 
peculiar  smile  on  the  face  of  the  militiaman  revealed  to  him  his  mistake,  and  the 


90  MAJOR    JOHN    ANDRE. 

other  two  men  coming  up  at  that  moment,  he  discovered,  too  late,  the  fatal  trap  he 
had  sprung  upon  himself.  He  then  sought  to  bribe  the  American  soldiers,  offering 
his  purse  and  watch,  and  promising  them  the  most  ample  reward  from  his  govern- 
ment, if  they  would  allow  him  to  proceed.  But  they  were  not  of  the  Arnold  stamp, 
and  they  sternly  rejected  all  his  bribes.  On  searching  him,  they  found  concealed  in 
one  of  his  boots,  in  Arnold's  own  handwriting,  papers  containing  exact  returns  of 
the  state  of  the  forces,  stores,  ordnance,  and  defences  of  West  Point,  with  those  of 
all  its  dependencies,  with  various  other  kinds  of  information  necessary  to  the  success 
of  the  British,  and  all  addressed  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  commander-in-chief  of  the 
British  forces  in  New  York. 

The  three  brave  men  whose  patriotism  was  strong  enough  to  resist  such  brilliant 
bribes,  and  the  eloquent  appeals  of  the  accomplished  Andre,  were  John  Paulding, 
David  Williams,  and  Isaac  Van  Wert.  They  deserve,  and  will  ever  receive,  the 
gratitude  of  their  country. 

The  board  of  officers  composing  the  court-martial  which  was  to  try  Andre,  and  at 
whose  head  was  General  Greene,  found  him  guilty  of  being  a  spy,  and  sentenced 
him  to  be  hanged.  'After  he  found  himself  fairly  a  prisoner,  he  threw  off  all  disguises, 
and  acknowledged  every  thing;  indeed,  he  was  convicted  on  his  own  confession. 
Every  effort  was  made  to  procure  a  remission  of  the  dreadful  verdict,  for  he  was  a 
dear  friend  of  Sir  Henry  Clinton's,  and  a  favorite  with  all  the  officers  ;  but  it  was 
thought  too  flagrant  a  case  to  go  unpunished,  and  the  commander  of  the  American 
army,  though  with  the  deepest  commiseration,  ordered  the  sentence  of  the  court  to 
be  carried  into  immediate  execution. 

Accordingly,  on  the  2d  of  October,  1780,  he  was  led  forth  to  execution.  When 
he  saw  the  fatal  gibbet,  he  manifested  some  emotion,  and  exclaimed,  "  Must  I  die 
in  this  manner  ? "  and  in  a  moment  added,  "  But  it  will  be  only  a  momentary 
pang;"  and,  instantly  resuming  his  wonted  serenity,  he  met  his  fate  with  a  dig- 
nity and  composure  which  excited  the  admiration,  and  deeply  moved  the  pity,  of 
all  who  witnessed  the  sad  termination  of  a  life  so  full  of  promise. 

Thus  perished,  in  the  flower  of  his  youth,  one  of  the  most  gallant  and  accom- 
plished officers  in  the  British  army,  and  of  whom  an  enemy,  the  gifted  Hamilton, 
thus  speaks :  — 

"  There  was  something  singularly  interesting  in  the  character  and  fortunes  of 
Major  Andre.  To  an  excellent  understanding,  well  improved  by  education  and 
travel,  he  united  a  peculiar  elegance  of  mind  and  manners,  and  the  advantage  of  a 
most  pleasing  person.  He  had  a  pretty  taste  for  the  fine  arts,  and  had  made  con- 
siderable proficiency  in  painting,  poetry,  and  music.  His  knowledge  appeared  with- 
out ostentation,  and  embellished  by  a  diffidence  that  rarely  accompanies  so  many 
talents  and  accomplishments.  His  sentiments  were  elevated,  and  inspired  esteem  ; 
they  had  a  softness  that  conciliated  affection.  His  elocution  was  handsome,  his  ad- 
dress easy,  polite,  and  insinuating.  By  his  merit  he  had  acquired  the  unlimited 
confidence  of  his  general,  and  was  making  rapid  advances  in  military  rank  and 
reputation." 


DANIEL    BOONE. 


THIS  hardy  and  brave  pioneer,  and  founder  of  Kentucky,  was  born  in  1748,  in 
Bucks  county,  Pennsylvania,  about  twenty  miles  from  Philadelphia.  While 
yet  a  mere  boy,  his  father  emigrated  to  North  Carolina,  and  settled  on  the  banks 
of  the  South  Yadkin  River.  The  wild  and  daring  spirit,  the  love  of  adventure,  and 
fearless  intrepidity,  which  characterized  his  maturer  life,  were  displayed  very  early. 
Before  he  was  twenty,  he  married  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Ryan,  a  neighboring  settler, 
by  whom  he  had  several  children,  and  who  cheerfully  shared  with  him  his  lonely 
and  repeated  removals  from  civilized  into  savage  life. 

On  the  1st  of  May,  1769,  Boone,  with  a  few  neighbors,  started  for  the  western 
wilderness,  and,  at  length,  "  located "  on  the  banks  of  the  Red  River,  in  Kentucky, 
then  an  unbroken  wilderness,  which  had  never  known  a  white  man,  nor  resounded 
to  the  stroke  of  the  axe.  We  cannot  follow  our  hero  through  all  the  vicissitudes  of 
his  pioneer  life;  it  was  one  of  great  peril  and  many  hardships.  Several  time? 
taken  prisoner  by  the  Indians,  he  had  the  tact  to  conciliate  them,  and  contrive  his 

7 


92  DANIEL     BOONE. 

escape.  Enduring  much  by  reason  of  hunger  and  privations,  toiling  early  and  late 
to  reduce  the  savage  wastes  to  a  condition  of  cultivation,  he  acquired  such  a  passion 
for  his  wild  and  adventurous  life,  that  when,  in  1792,  Kentucky  was  admitted  to  the 
Union,  he  struck  out  still  farther  into  the  wilderness,  and  settled,  at  length,  at 
St.  Charles,  on  the  Missouri  River,  about  forty-five  miles  above  St.  Louis.  On 
being  asked  why,  at  his  time  of  life,  he  relinquished  the  comforts  of  a  home  he  had 
redeemed  from  savage  life  and  rendered  comfortable,  for  the  renewed  trials  of  a 
wilderness  home,  his  answer  was,  "  O,  I  am  too  crowded ;  I  must  have  more  elbow 
room." 

During  this  interval  of  time,  Colonel  Boone  had  made  many  lesser  changes  in 
his  place  of  residence,  and  had  often  been  employed  by  government  on  missions 
of  hostile  and  friendly  intent  among  the  Indians ;  in  all  of  which  he  exhibited  a 
statesmanship  and  courage  which  won  for  him  the  approval  of  his  employers,  and 
the  admiration  of  his  savage  foes.  He  resided  in  this  last  home  about  fifteen  years, 
when,  losing  his  wife,  who  had  shared  with  him  all  his  perilous  life,  he  went  to 
spend  the  remnant  of  his  days  with  his  son,  Major  Nathan  Boone,  and  where  he 
died,  in  1822,  breathing  his  last  in  perfect  resignation,  at  the  great  age  of  eighty- 
four  years. 

It  would  far  exceed  our  proposed  limits  to  enter  into  a  minute  detail  of  all  the 
romantic  and  adventurous  exploits  of  this  remarkable  man ;  we  content  ourselves 
with  the  following:  — 

While  a  resident  in  his  father's  house,  on  the  Yadkin  River,  being  about  eighteen 
years  of  age,  he,  in  company  with  another  youth  of  the  neighborhood,  got  up  a  k'  fire 
hunt,"  which  is  conducted  as  follows :  One  of  the  party  rides  through  the  forest 
on  horseback,  with  a  lighted  torch  swinging  above  his  head,  while  the  other  remains 
in  covert.  The  torch  attracts  the  attention  of  the  deer,  and  at  a  signal  from  the 
concealed  person  the  torch  is  held  stationary,  and,  while  the  eager  eyes  of  the  won- 
dering animal  are  fixed  on  the  light,  a  ball  is  planted  between  them,  and  the  "  poor 
fool "  falls  a  victim  to  his  curiosity.  On  this  occasion,  Boone  was  in  covert,  and, 
seeing  a  pair  of  reflecting  eyes  through  the  dim  shade  of  the  trees,  levelled  his  rifle, 
and  gave  the  preconcerted  signal.  To  his  astonishment,  the  animal  turned  and  fled ; 
and,  without  a  thought,  the  brave  hunter  sprung  from  his  hiding-place  and  pursued. 
Over  hill  and  moor,  through  brake  and  thicket,  the  race  went  forward,  our  hero 
gaining  on  the  game  until,  at  length,  the  affrighted  and  pursued  object  rushed  into 
the  house  of  his  newly-settled  neighbor  Ryan.  Flinging  himself  through  the  door, 
we  may  judge  of  the  confusion  of  Boone  when  he  saw  the  object  of  his  pursuit  faint- 
ing with  terror  in  the  old  man's  arms  — for  it  was  his  beautiful  and  only  daughter  ! 
We  need  not  relate  how  he  wooed  and  won  the  fair  Rebecca,  who  came  so  near 
being  the  victim  to  his  bullet. 

While  residing  on  the  Kentucky  River,  a  party  of  three  Indians  waylaid  and  took 
prisoners  three  young  ladies,  one  of  them  Boone's  daughter.  He  was  absent  from 
the  fort  at  the  time,  but,  returning  some  hours  after,  commenced  the  pursuit  alone, 
overtook  the  party  the  following  day,  and,  slaying  two  of  the  Indians,  returned  to 
the  fort,  bringing  the  fair  captives  with  him. 


BENJAMIN    K\JSE,  M.   D. 


NO  American  physician  has  acquired  a  wider  and  higher  reputation  for  learning, 
skill  and  genius  than  Dr.  BENJAMIN  RUSH  ;  and  certainly  he  has  never  had  his 
superior  in  those  personal  virtues  which  adorned  his  character  and  made  him  a  fa- 
vorite with  all  classes  of  society.  The  system  of  practice  which  he  adopted  and 
advocated  has  gone  much  into  disuse  at  the  present  day,  although  it  still  has  its  ad- 
vocates, and  doubtless  will  continue  to  have,  until  some  benefactor  to  the  race  shall 
be  able  to  demonstrate  its  error.  This  discussion,  however,  comes  not  into  our  voca- 
tion, and  we  leave  to  the  knights  of  the  lancet  to  settle  this  bruited  question  as  best 
they  can. 

Dr.  Rush  was  born  in  Byberry  township,  Philadelphia  county,  on  the  24th  of  De- 
cember, 1745.  His  father. dying  when  he  was  six  years  old,  his  mother  assumed  the 
charge  of  his  education;  and  so  faithfully  did  she  execute  the  important  trust,  that 
he  was  able  to  enter  Princeton  College  at  the  age  of  thirteen  ;  and  such  had  been 
his  progress  in  his  studies,  that  he  obtained  his  degree  before  he  was  fifteen  years 
old.  After  spending  five  years  in  the  medical  offices  of  the  celebrated  physicians 
Drs.  Redman  and  Shippen,  he  went  to  Edinburgh,  where,  after  two  years'  study  in 
the  university  in  that  city,  he  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine. 


94:  BENJAMIN     RUSH,    M.    D. 

After  taking  his  degree  in  Scotland,  Dr.  Rush  went  to  London  and  Paris,  where 
he  spent  a  few  months,  and  returned  to  Philadelphia  in  the  autumn  of  1769,  when 
he  was  elected  professor  of  chemistry  in  the  College  of  Philadelphia.  In  1791,  the 
college  being  merged  in  the  university,  Dr.  Rush  was  appointed  professor  of  the 
institutes  and  practice  of  medicine,  and  of  clinical  practice.  His  lectures  were  pop- 
ular, and  very  fully  attended,  and  his  practice  greatly  extended  itself.  He  adopted 
the  depletory  practice,  and  resorted,  on  almost  all  occasions,  to  the  lancet  and  cal- 
omel. In  his  treatment  of  the  yellow  fever,  which,  about  this  time,  desolated  Phil- 
adelphia,—  the  only  account  of  which,  that  has  been  preserved,  being  from  notes 
taken  by  Dr.  Rush  at  the  time,  —  he  seems  to  have  been  eminently  successful.  He 
remained  at  his  post  constantly  during  the  three  months  of  its  ravages,  and  gave 
his  services  freely  to  the  poor,  rejecting  enormous  offers  from  the  rich,  that  the  chil- 
dren of  poverty  should  not  suffer  from  want  of  care.  Once  he  came  near  falling  a 
victim  to  the  disease.  He  took  no  rest,  and  visited,  on  an  average,  one  hundred 
patients  daily.  He  adopted  for  his  own  the  motto  of  the  great  Boerhaave,  "  The 
poor  are  my  best  patients,  for  God  is  their  paymaster." 

As  might  have  been  expected  of  such  a  man,  Dr.  Rush  was  an  ardent  patriot, 
and  took  a  decided  stand  with  the  friends  of  his  country.  By  his  counsels  and  his 
pen,  he  did  eminent  service  to  the  cause  of  freedom,  and  filled  several  important 
offices.  In  1776,  he  put  his  name,  as  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress,  to 
the  immortal  Declaration  of  Independence.  In  1777,  he  was  appointed  head  of  the 
medical  staff  in  the  Continental  army,  and  was  assiduous  in  his  duties,  visiting  the 
hospitals,  assisting  the  wounded,  and  exercising  a  general  oversight  of  the  health  of 
the  army. 

Dr.  Rush  was  a  great  student  and  writer,  and  it  is  through  his  many  printed 
works  that  his  memory  is  kept  fragrant  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen.  From  his 
nineteenth  to  the  sixty-fourth  year  of  his  age,  he  was  a  public  writer.  Our  limits 
will  not  allow  us  to  give  a  list  even  of  his  published  works.  They  exhibit  exten- 
sive learning,  profound  medical  science,  deep  piety,  a  zealous  patriotism  and  un- 
bounded benevolence.  His  moral  qualities  were  such  as  naturally  spring  from  an 
elevated  and  cultivated  mind,  and  a  heart  deeply  penetrated  with  the  love  ol  "  what- 
soever things  are  pure  and  of  good  report." 

From  the  age  of  twenty-four  until  his  death  he  was  in  constant  and  extensive 
practice.  He  was  cut  off  suddenly,  by  a  prevailing  typhus  fever,  in  the  midst  of 
usefulness,  on  the  19th  of  April,  1813,  being  sixty-eight  years  of  age.  "  He  saveo 
others ;  himself  he  could  not  save." 

Dr.  Rush  was  married,  in  1776,  to  Miss  Julia  Stockton,  eldest  daughter  of  Richard 
Stockton,  Esq.,  of  New  Jersey,  whose  name  appears  with  that  of  his  son-in-law  i\  • 
the  original  Declaration  of  Independence.  His  widow,  and  a  numerous  progeny  oi 
sons  and  daughters,  survived  him. 


MAJOR  GENERAL  DANIEL  MORGAN 


DANIEL  MORGAN,  the  poor  wagon-boy,  " the  hero  of  Quebec,  of  Saratoga, 
and  the  Cowpens,  —  the  bravest  of  the  brave,  and  the  Ney  of  the  West,"  — 
was  born  of  poor  and  illiterate  parents  in  New  Jersey,  in  1736.  At  the  age  of  sev- 
enteen, he  engaged  himself  as  a  wagoner  to  a  wealthy  planter  in  Virginia.  In  the 
unfortunate  expedition  of  Braddock,  he  belonged  to  the  army,  and  drove  his  own 
team.  It  was  in  this  campaign  that,  under  charge  of  contumacy  to  a  British  officer, 
he  actually  received  five  hundred  lashes  on  the  bare  back.  Nothing  but  an  iron 
frame  saved  him  from  annihilation.  The  worst  of  it  was,  the  officer  afterwards 
discovered  that  he  was  innocent  of  the  charge,  on  which  he  made  the  amende  ho- 
norable before  the  whole  regiment.  It  was  here  that  those  military  qualifications  first 
developed  themselves,  which  afterwards  crowned  his  career  with  unfading  glory.  It 
was  in  this  campaign  that  he  received  the  only  severe  wound  ever  inflicted  by  the 
bullets  of  his  enemy.  On  a  military  expedition,  accompanied  by  two  soldiers,  he 
was  surprised  by  the  fire  of  a  large  party  of  Indians.  The  two  soldiers  were  in- 
stantly killed,  and  Morgan  received  a  ball  in  the  back  part  of  the  neck,  which,  after 
dreadfully  crushing  his  jaw,  escaped  by  his  mouth.  By  clinging  to  the  neck  of  his 
horse,  and  urging  the  animal  with  his  heels,  he  was  carried  into  the  fort,  where  he 


96  MAJOR     GENERAL    DANIEL    MORGAN. 

arrived  in  a  perfectly  senseless  condition.  But,  by  judicious  treatment,  he  recovered, 
living  dreadfully  to  revenge  the  death  of  his  comrades  and  his  own  mutilation  It 
was  at  this  period  that  he  met  Colonel  Washington,  afterwards  so  renowned  in  the 
history  of  our  independence.  A  most  intimate  acquaintance  sprung  up  between 
them,  which  lasted  during  life. 

When  Morgan  heard  of  the  events  at  Lexington  and  Concord,  he  raised  a  com- 
pany of  riflemen,  —  afterwards  so  famous  in  the  war,  —  and  proceeded  to  Cambridge, 
to  offer  his  services  to  Washington.  He  was  joined  to,  and  led  the  van  of,  the  expe- 
dition against  Canada,  under  Arnold,  and  exhibited  the  utmost  bravery  in  all  the 
subsequent  events  of  that  disastrous  campaign,  in  which,  after  the  most  brilliant 
manoeuvres,  he  was  overpowered  by  numbers,  and  became,  with  his  noble  band, 
prisoners  of  war.  While  a  prisoner,  every  art  was  used  to  seduce  him  to  join  the 
British  army ;  but  he  rejected  every  proposition  with  scorn. 

He  was  soon  after  exchanged,  made  colonel  in  the  Continental  army,  placed 
at  the  head  of  the  rifle  rangers,  by  Washington,  and  sent  to  the  assistance  of  Gates, 
on  the  fall  of  Ticonderoga.  He  took  a  very  prominent  part  in  the  battle  of  Saratoga, 
which  put  a  period  to  the  celebrated  expedition  of  Burgoyne,  and  led  to  his  sur- 
render. The  enemy  attributed  their  defeat  on  that  occasion  to  the  activity  and  gen- 
eralship of  Morgan  and  his  brave  rifle  rangers,  notwithstanding  the  self-conceited 
and  narrow-minded  Gates,  by  reason  of  a  petty  jealousy,  in  his  report  of  that  bril- 
liant battle,  withheld  the  credit  due  to  this  brave  soldier. 

As  a  mark  of  their  high  respect,  and  for  his  effective  conduct  at  Saratoga,  Con- 
gress conferred  on  Morgan  the  title  of  brigadier  general,  and  his  neighbors  named 
his  plantation  "  Saratoga,"  which  name  it  bears  to  this  day.  On  receipt  of  his  com- 
mission, he  was  ordered  to  join  Gates,  in  the  south,  but  did  not  reach  him  in  season 
to  prevent  his  defeat  at  the  battle  of  Camden.  Flushed  with  victory,  the  British 
commander  sent  General  Tarleton,  one  of  the  bravest  and  most  unrelenting  foes  to 
America,  with  a  greatly  superior  force,  to  meet  and  annihilate  Morgan.  Nothing 
daunted  at  the  imposing  array,  seconded  by  his  brave  compeers,  Colonels  Washing- 
ton, Pickens,  and  Howard,  he  met  the  furious  onset  with  a  stout  heart  and  hand ;  and 
such  was  the  ungovernable  fury  of  "  the  rangers,"  and  the  other  troops,  that  Tarle- 
ton's  force  was  utterly  annihilated,  and  himself  obliged  to  fly  for  his  life.  The  num- 
ber of  prisoners  taken  by  Morgan  in  this  splendid  but  bloody  affair  exceeded  that 
of  his  whole  army.  This  battle  put  a  finishing  stroke  to  the  war  in  the  south,  and 
led  ultimately  to  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis. 

Nothing  of  importance  occurred  in  the  military  career  of  Morgan  after  this.  Con- 
gress voted  him  and  his  brave  officers  thanks  and  medals  ;  and  soon  after  the  war 
closed,  with  all  his  honors  clustering  around  his  glorious  name,  he  retired  to  his  farm 
at  Saratoga.  In  the  interval  between  this  period  and  1800,  he  was  a  member  of 
Congress  for  two  sessions,  and  served  his  country  in  several  capacities  with  entire 
satisfaction.  In  this  last-named  year,  he  removed  to  Winchester,  where,  after  two 
years  of  great  suffering,  he  expired  on  the  6th  of  July,  1802,  aged  sixty-six. 


CHIEF    JUSTICE    MARSHALL. 


ri^HIS  eminent  lawyer  and  statesman  was  born  in  Fauquier  county,  Virginia, 
JL  on  the  24th  of  September,  1755.  His  early  education  was  desultory,  and  far 
from  being  thorough :  indeed,  he  was  self-educated.  When  the  question  of  Amer- 
ican independence  was  reaching  its  culminating  point,  young  MARSHALL  was  about 
eighteen,  and  entered  into  its  discussion  with  great  zeal  and  devotion.  He  joined 
a  volunteer  company  in  order  to  learn  the  art  of  war,  and  made  the  best  use  of  his 
knowledge  by  the  training  of  a  company  of  raw  militia  in  his  neighborhood.  In 
1775,  he  received  the  appointment  of  first  lieutenant  in  a  company  of  minutemen. 
and  entered  immediately  into  active  service,  where  he  rendered  important  aid  in  the 
defeat  of  Lord  Dunmore,  at  Great  Bridge,  and  subsequently  in  driving  the  English 
troops  from  Norfolk.  In  1777,  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  captain,  and  pro- 
ceeded north,  where  he  figured  in  the  memorable  battles  of  Brandywine,  German- 
town,  and  Monmouth. 

On  the  capitulation  of  Cornwallis,  Mr.  Marshall  resumed  the  practice  of  law, 
which  he  had  commenced  in  1780.  He  soon  rose  to  distinction  as  a  lawyer,  and 
was  called  upon  to  devote  his  acute  mind  to  political  affairs.  In  1782,  he  was  senl 
to  the  legislature  of  his  native  state,  and  elected  a  member  of  the  executive  council 


98  CHIEF    JUSTICE    MARSHALL. 

the  same  year.  He  was  married  the  following  year  to  Miss  Ambler,  daughter  to  the 
treasurer  of  the  state. 

During  the  agitation  of  the  momentous  questions  o±  state  and  national  policy,  in 
which  all  America  took  such  deep  interest,  and  which  lasted  from  the  close  of  the 
war  to  the  year  1800,  Mr.  Marshall  was  among  the  foremost  and  mightiest  cham- 
pions of  ';  liberty  with  order,"  and  was  always  found  on  the  side  of  Washington, 
Hamilton,  and  Madison.  He  was  a  member  of  the  state  legislature  nearly  all  this 
time ;  was  a  very  active  and  efficient  member  of  the  convention  called  to  consider  the 
expediency  of  adopting  the  national  constitution  ;  was  engaged  in  a  constantly  grow- 
ing practice  of  his  profession,  and  discharged  a  variety  of  public  duties,  to  which 
he  was  called  by  his  fellow-citizens.  He  also  declined  the  offer  of  United  States 
Attorney  General,  as  well  as  that  of  Minister  to  France,  offered  by  Washington ; 
but  was  persuaded  the  following  year  to  accept  the  latter  appointment.  Return- 
ing from  that  unsuccessful  mission  in  1798,  he,  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  Wash- 
ington, consented  to  become  a  candidate  for  Congress  ;  to  which  he  was  elected, 
and  took  his  scat  in  December,  1799.  Pending  his  election,  he  was  offered  a  place 
upon  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court,  but  declined  the  honor. 

Among  the  bright  stars  of  that  congressional  galaxy,  Mr.  Marshall's  name  shines 
as  one  of  the  most  brilliant.  His  acute  and  discriminating  reason,  his  calm  and 
sober  judgment,  his  fearless  decision  in  favor  of  what  he  deemed  to  be  right,  and 
which  so  conspicuously  marked  his  career  while  he  was  Chief  Justice  of  the  United 
States,  were  felt  and  confessed  by  all  his  noble  compeers. 

In  1800,  he  was  nominated  to  the  office  of  Secretary  of  War,  and,  notwithstand- 
ing his  most  vehement  protestation,  the  nomination  was  unanimously  ratified  by 
the  Senate.  But  the  rupture  between  Adams  and  Colonel  Pickering  occurring 
about  this  period,  Mr.  Marshall  was  offered  and  accepted  the  office  of  Secretary  of 
State,  vacated  by  the  resignation  of  that  gentleman.  He  filled  this  important  sta- 
tion but  a  short  time,  for  in  January,  1801,  he  became  Chief  Justice  of  the  United 
States,  which  office  he  adorned  for  a  period  of  forty-five  years.  His  death  occurred 
in  1846,  at  the  age  of  ninety-one. 

What  Cicero  said  of  a  great  man  of  his  own  times,  may,  with  equal  truth,  be 
applied  to  Chief  Justice  Marshall,  and  form  a  graceful  conclusion  to  our  otherwise 
imperfect  sketch.  "  Nihil  acute  inveniri  potuit  in  eis  causis,  quas  scnpsit,  nihil  (ut  ita 
dicam)  subdole,  nihil  vermte,  quod  ille  non  viderit ;  nihil  subtiliter  did,  nihil  presse, 
nihil  enucleate,  quo  fieri  possit  limatius" 


LIEUTENANT    GENERAL    JOHN    BURGOYNE. 


ri>HIS  gallant  and  accomplished  soldier  was  the  natural  son  of  Lord  Bingley, 
-L  and  was  born  in  England.  Entering  the  army  at  an  early  age,  in  1762  he 
commanded  a  body  of  troops  sent  to  Portugal  to  defend  that  kingdom  against 
the  Spaniards.  On  his  return,  he  was  chosen  privy  councillor,  and  elected  to  Par- 
liament. During  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  he  came  to  America,  and,  in  1777,  was 
appointed  to  the  command  of  the  northern  army,  and  ordered  to  open  a  communica- 
tion between  New  York  and  Canada,  thus  cut  off  New  England  from  the  other 
states,  and  then  overrun  the  whole  country.  At  the  head  of  a  splendid  army  of 
about  fifteen  thousand  troops,  and  several  thousand  savages,  whom  he  had  purchased 
into  his  service  with  gold  and  promises  of  spoil ;  having  most  abundant  munitions 
of  artillery,  and  every  appointment  an  army  could  desire ;  surrounded  by  a  brilliant 
and  gallant  staff,  Burgoyne  set  out  from  Quebec  in  the  most  imposing  manner, 
issuing  the  most  bombastic  and  threatening  bulletins,  and  adopting  as  his  motto, 
"  This  army  must  not  retreat" 

How  this  doughty  general  made  his  descent  on  Ticonderoga  and  Fort  George, 
taking  them  without  scarce  a  blow ;  how  he  pursued  his  way  through  the  country 
towards  the  Hudson,  carrying  devastation  and  spreading  terror  on  every  hand;  how 


100  LIEUTENANT     GENERAL    JOHN     BURGOYNE. 

the  affrighted  inhabitants  fled  at  his  terrible  coming,  or  basely  sought  his  protec- 
tion by  abandoning  their  country ;  how  he  pursued  the  retreating  American  army 
across  the  lake  to  Skeensboro',  and  thence  to  Fort  Edward,  on  the  Hudson ;  how 
Colonel  Ethan  Allen  taught  the  proud  general  a  bitter  lesson  at  Bennington,  which 
was  soon  followed  by  another  from  Arnold,  at  Fort  Schuyler ;  how  the  American 
army,  under  Gates  and  Schuyler,  gave  him  a  most  warm  reception  at  Stillwater , 
how,  at  Bemis's  Heights,  on  the  plains  of  Saratoga,  that  brilliant  army,  with  its 
splendid  appointments,  stores  and  magazines,  fell  into  the  hands  of  our  noble  army, 
and  how  the  valiant  and  boastful  Burgoyne  gave  up  his  sword  into  the  hands  of  his 
captor,  Gates,  —  all  this  we  have  recorded  in  the  memoirs  of  those  gallant  men  who 
aided  in  bringing  about  this  great  deliverance  to  our  oppressed  and  suffering  nation. 

Never  was  greater  disappointment  experienced  by  vainglorying  man  —  never  was 
greater  exultation  of  an  emancipated  people !  The  nation  breathed  again,  and  hope 
once  more  animated  the  American  bosom. 

General  Burgoyne  marched  with  his  army  to  Cambridge,  a  prisoner  of  war,  from 
whence  he  sailed,  on  parole,  to  England,  where  he  was  received  with  many  marks 
of  contempt,  denied  the  presence  of  his  sovereign,  and  finally  was  ordered  to  Amer- 
ica as  a  prisoner  of  war.  But  the  state  of  his  health  would  not  permit  it,  and  he 
was,  after  a  season,  suffered  to  offer  his  vindication  to  his  government,  and  imme- 
diately resigned  his  honors  and  emoluments  to  the  crown,  the  latter  amounting  to 
fifteen  thousand  dollars  per  annum. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  war,  when  the  ministry,  and  a  large  majority  of  Parlia- 
ment, seemed  disposed  to  prosecute  the  contest  with  greater  vigor,  he  took  sides 
with  the  opposition.  "  I  know,"  said  he,  during  the  debate,  "  that  it  is  impossible 
to  conquer  America.  Passion,  prejudice,  and  interest  may  operate  suddenly  and 
partially;  but  when  we  see  one  principle  pervading  an  entire  continent,  —  the  Amer- 
icans resolutely  encountering  difficulty  and  death  for  years, —  it  must  be  a  strong 
vanity  and  presumption  in  our  minds  which  can  only  lead  us  to  imagine  that  they 
are  not  in  the  right." 

The  remainder  of  his  life  was  spent  as  a  private  gentleman,  and  in  the  enjoyment 
of  the  pleasures  of  literature,  the  chase,  and  society.  He  wrote  several  minor  works, 
and  kept  a  very  faithful  and  elegant  journal  of  his  American  campaign.  He  died 
by  a  fit  of  the  gout,  August  4,  1792. 


GILBERT    STUART. 


GILBERT  CHARLES  STUART  — so  stands  his  name  upon  the  church 
V3T  record  of  his  christening,  although,  from  political  motives,  he  afterwards 
dropped  entirely  the  middle  name  —  was  bom  at  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  in  1754. 
His  father  was  a  millwright,  and  manufacturer  of  snuff,  and  originated  in  Scotland. 
The  youth  of  Stuart  is  barren  of  interest.  He  is  represented  as  a  headstrong  boy, 
casting  off  parental  restraint,  and  acting  agreeably  to  his  own  wild  impulses  ;  yet 
generous  and  noble  in  his  nature.  Having  a  great  passion  for  music,  and  the  fasci- 
nation of  painting  being  strong  upon  him,  he  was  saved  from  the  downward  fate  in 
which  such  strong  waywardness  and  imbecile  parental  authority  so  often  terminate. 

The  well-timed  visit  of  a  relative,  who  was  struck  with  the  remarkable  talent  dis- 
played in  some  of  his  drawings,  decided  the  bias  of  his  mind,  and  determined  him 
to  devote  his  genius  to  painting. 

Dr.  Waterhouse  was  an  early  friend  of  Stuart,  and,  in  1773,  they  founded  an 
academy,  in  which  they  studied  and  practised  together  until  1775,  when  Waterhouse 
went  to  London.  Thither  our  young  artist  soon  followed.  After  much  hardship, 


102  GILBERT     STUART 

and  some  suffering,  he  received  an  introduction  to  the  benevolent  West,  and  soon 
became  his  pupil.  His  fame  was  now  made  certain,  for  Mr.  West  was  the  bright 
artistic  star  of  London,  and  his  proficiency  was  rapid  and  sure. 

He  returned  to  America  in  1793,  being  drawn  thither,  as  he  declared,  by  a  burn- 
ing desire  to  paint  the  picture  of  the  Father  of  his  Country.  How  admirably  he 
succeeded  in  the  patriotic  purpose,  all  the  world  know ;  and  for  his  noble  likeness 
of  Washington  all  America  is  grateful.  An  eminent  artist,  speaking  of  this  picture, 
exclaims,  a  A  nobler  personification  of  wisdom  and  goodness,  reposing  in  the  majesty 
of  a  serene  conscience,  is  not  to  be  found  on  canvas." 

After  this  chef  d'ceuvre,  Mr.  Stuart  resided  for  a  short  period  in  Washington,  and, 
in  1805,  removed  to  Boston,  where  he  spent  the  remnant  of  his  days  in  the  un- 
dimmed  possession  of  his  genius,  diligently  applying  himself  to  his  profession  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  in  July,  1828. 

We  will  conclude  this  hasty  sketch  with  an  anecdote,  which  we  do  not  remember 
ever  to  have  seen  in  print,  and  which  exhibits  the  great  power  of  our  artist  to  por- 
tray, in  his  faces,  the  striking  characteristics  of  his  sitters.  When  Mr.  Stuart  had 
completed  the  picture  of  the  elder  Adams,  and  on  which  he  had  bestowed  the  great- 
e<t  care,  he  invited  a  number  of  the  friends  of  Mr.  Adams,  among  whom  was 
Washington,  to  see  it.  At  the  time  appointed,  Mr.  Adams,  with  his  friends,  met 
the  painter  in  his  studio,  who  had  placed  the  picture  in  the  most  favorable  light  be- 
side that  of  Washington.  For  some  minutes  a  profound  silence  was  observed,  when 
Mr.  Adams,  advancing  close  to  the  pictures,  in  his  usual  vehement  manner,  and 
pointing  to  the  portrait  of  Washington,  exclaimed,  "  There  is  a  man,  gentlemen, 
who  knew  when  to  keep  his  mouth  shut ;  there  is  one,"  pointing  to  his  own  portrait, 
"  who  never  did.' 


JOHN    PAUL    JONES. 


THIS  daring  naval  commander  was  the  fifth  child  of  John  Paul,  a  poor  but  re- 
spectable gardener,  and  was  born  at  Arbigland,  in  the  south  of  Scotland,  near 
the  Firth  of  Solway,  on  the  6th  of  July,  1747.  At  the  early  age  of  six  or  eight,  he 
used  to  be  seen  rigging  out  his  mimic  fleet  of  chips,  and  giving  imperious  commands 
to  imaginary  sailors  engaged  in  a  bloody  naval  fight.  At  twelve,  he  entered  the 
merchant  marine  service,  and,  purchasing  his  indentures  at  eighteen,  became  master 
of  a  brig  engaged  in  the  American  slave  trade,  which  he  soon  left  in  disgust.  He 
embarked  as  passenger  in  another  brig  for  home.  The  master  and  mate  both  died 
on  the  homeward  passage,  and  he  was  called  to  her  command ;  in  which  office  the 
owners  kept  him  for  several  voyages,  when  he  was  promoted  to  the  command  of 
a  large  London  ship  in  the  West  India  trade. 

In  his  voyages,  young  Paul  had  made  several  visits  to  various  parts  of  the  Amer- 
ican continent;  and,  in  1773,  having  occasion  to  reside  in  Virginia  while  the  estate 
of  an  elder  brother,  recently  deceased,  was  settled,  he  became  enamoured  of  the  coun- 
try, and  resolved  to  make  it  his  own.  Little  dreaming  of  the  scenes  of  glorious 
activity  that  were  before  him,  he  resolved  to  settle  down  into  the  life  of  a  Virginia 
planter.  But  the  stirring  scenes  of  the  Revolution  roused  him  from  his  repose,  and 


104  JOHN    PAUL    JONES. 

decided  him  to  engage  in  the  contest  for  freedom  with  the  colonists.  About  this 
time  he  assumed,  as  his  patronymic,  the  name  of  Jones  —  for  what  reason  does  not 
appear. 

When,  in  1775,  Congress  resolved  to  equip  a  fleet  for  the  defence  of  our  shores, 
we  find  the  name  of  JOHN  PAUL  JONES  at  the  head  of  the  list  of  first-class  lieuten- 
ants. As  subordinate  in  the  Alfred,  and  commander  in  the  Providence,  he  signal- 
ized himself  as  a  brave  and  sagacious  officer.  He  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  man 
that  ever  run  up  the  stars  and  stripes  to  masthead. 

As  commander  of  the  Ranger,  of  eighteen  guns,  he  sailed  to  Brest,  and  obtained 
a  salute  to  his  flag  from  the  French  —  the  first  that  was  ever  accorded  to  it.  After 
a  brilliant  cruise,  he  sailed  to  France,  and  there  obtained,  after  almost  superhuman 
efforts,  and  a  deep  and  persevering  diplomacy,  an  old  ship  called  the  Due  de  Duras. 
After  much  more  plotting  and  counterplotting,  in  which  he  exhibited  a  tact  and  skill 
worthy  a  much  more  experienced  statesman,  he  obtained  permission  to  give  the  old 
ship  a  new  name,  and  selected  "Le  Bon  Homme  Richard"  out  of  compliment  -to 
Dr.  Franklin,  whose  assistance  had  largely  contributed  to  his  success. 

Having  been  advanced  to  a  captaincy,  Commander  Jones  put  to  sea  with  a  fleet 
of  seven  vessels,  hoisting  his  flag  upon  the  Bon  Homme  Richard.  To  the  terror  of 
the  English,  he  cruised  along  the  coast  of  the  United  Kingdoms,  entering  their 
rivers,  and  indeed  their  very  harbors,  taking  prizes  and  men,  burning  ships,  and  com- 
mitting various  other  depredations  ;  and  on  the  23d  of  September,  1779,  fought,  by 
moonlight,  his  celebrated,  and  by  far  his  most  bloody  and  successful,  battle  with 
the  British  frigate  Serapis,  in  size,  men,  metal  and  all  other  appointments,  greatly 
superior  to  his  own  ship.  In  the  early  part  of  the  action,  the  vessels  became  entan- 
gled, and  were  lashed  side  to  side,  —  stern  to  bow,  and  bow  to  stern,  —  in  which 
condition  they  fought  with  such  fury  that  the  Bon  Homme  was  so  disabled  that  she 
went  to  the  bottom  the  next  day,  and  the  Serapis  was  so  cut  up  as  hardly  to  be  able 
to  carry  the  victors  and  their  prisoners  into  port. 

This  splendid  victory  gave  the  crowning  eclat  to  one  of  the  most  brilliant  cruises 
that  the  world  had  ever  witnessed,  and  dazzled  all  Europe,  filling  America  with  joy 
and  pride.  After  many  sharp  conflicts  with  the  enemy,  and  daring  exploits,  and 
hairbreadth  escapes,  he  reached  Philadelphia  in  the  winter  of  1781,  where  he  was 
received  with  many  marks  of  distinction.  Congress  voted  its  thanks,  and  gave  him 
command  of  the  America,  then  building  at  Portsmouth ;  the  French  king  invested 
him  with  a  cross  of  honor,  and  his  praise  was  the  theme  of  song  and  prose  all  over 
the  nation. 

Before  the  America  was  finished,  the  war  had  closed,  and  Commodore  Jones 
passed  the  rest  of  his  life  in  bloodless  but  important  public  service  abroad,  and 
died  at  Paris  on  the  18th  of  July,  1792. 

Ardent  in  his  temperament,  and  somewhat  irascible,  fearless  of  censure,  and  care- 
less of  applause,  acting  on  his  own  judgment,  and  assuming  all  the  responsibility  of 
his  conduct,  it  is  not  surprising  that  he  had  enemies.  But  a  careful  investigation  of 
his  motives  and  actions  has  convinced  every  one,  long  ago,  of  his  upright  patriotism, 
unflinching  honor,  and  unbending  truth,  as  well  as  of  his  uncommon  sagacity  and 
unshrinking  valor. 


MAJOR    GENERAL    PHILIP    SCHUYLER. 


T^HIS  gallant  officer  was  born  at  Albany,  on  the  22d  of  November,  1733.  He 
lost  his  father  early,  and  the  superintendence  of  his  education  fell  to  the  charge 
of  his  mother,  a  woman  of  strong,  cultivated  mind,  and  deep  religious  character. 
At  fifteen,  he  was  put  to  school  at  New  Rochelle,  where  he  devoted  himself  to  the 
acquisition  of  mathematics  and  the  other  exact  sciences,  together  with  the  Latin 
and  French  languages.  He  entered  the  army  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  French 
war,  in  1755.  In  1758,  his  activity  and  zeal  attracted  the  attention  of  Lord  Howe, 
who  appointed  him  to  office  in  the  commissariat  department,  the  arduous  and  diffi- 
cult duties  of  which  he  discharged  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  his  general. 

Between  the  peace  of  1763  and  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  COLONEL  SCHUYLER 
filled  various  civil  offices.  In  1775,  he  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  Continental 
Congress,  by  which  he  was  immediately  elected  a  major  general  of  the  Continental 
army,  and  despatched  to  the  command  of  the  army  in  northern  New  York.  The 
result  justified  the  choice.  Under  his  vigilant  supervision  the  army  improved  in 
( rder  and  efficiency.  Early  in  July,  he  was  ordered  to  the  northern  frontier  of  New 
York,  with  instructions  to  reduce  Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga,  "  and,  if  practicable, 


106  MAJOR    GENERAL    PHILIP     SCHUYLER. 

to  take  possession  of  St.  Johns,  Quebec,  and  Montreal,"  in  which  he  was  to  be 
joined  by  the  eastern  army,  under  Arnold,  already  on  its  march  through  the  wilder- 
ness of  Maine  on  its  bootless  mission.  Falling  sick,  General  Schuyler  resigned  the 
command  of  the  army  to  the  brave,  but  unfortunate,  Montgomery.  The  luckless 
issue  of  that  campaign  is  too  well  known  to  follow  it  any  further  in  this  place. 

But  the  supplies  of  the  northern  army  devolved  still  on  General  Schuyler,  and 
nothing  but  an  untiring  sagacity  and  comprehensiveness  enabled  him  to  keep  that 
army  from  perishing.  In  no  situation  of  his  life  did  he  exhibit  in  higher  perfection 
those  splendid  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  which  constituted  him  one  of  the 
bravest  and  most  chivalrous  officers  of  the  Revolution.  The  effects  of  his  clear- 
sighted and  cool-headed  diplomacy  were  speedily  felt ;  while  before  the  terrible 
march  of  Burgoyne  the  scattered  forces  of  the  northern  army  were  enabled  safely  to 
retreat  upon  the  head-quarters  of  their  general. 

In  gathering  the  scattered  troops  of  that  defeated  army ;  in  replacing  the  muni- 
tions of  war  which  had  fallen  into  the  hand  of  the  enemy ;  in  annoying  and  im- 
peding the  progress  of  Burgoyne,  and  in  preparing  to  give  the  last  blow  to  his 
arrogance  and  pride,  Schuyler  stood  confessed  a  great  and  brave  soldier ;  while  in 
his  demeanor  towards  his  officers,  and  his  tender  care  of  his  men,  the  goodness  of 
his  heart  shone  conspicuously,  and  marked  him  a  man  and  brother.  But  he  was 
destined  to  be  robbed  of  the  prize  for  which  he  had  sacrificed  so  much,  and  so  nobly 
striven.  By  reason  of  petty  jealousies,  Congress  was  led  to  deprive  him  of  his  com- 
mand on  the  very  eve  of  the  battle  of  Saratoga,  and  General  Gates  was  permitted 
to  bear  off  the  palm  of  glory  for  which  he  had  not  moved  a  finger. 

Many  were  the  accusations  brought  against  this  gallant  officer.  He  was  tried, 
and  honorably  acquitted ;  and  Congress  offered  him  repeated  honors,  all  of  which 
he  firmly  resisted,  sending  in  his  resignation,  which,  after  long  delay,  was  accepted, 
and  he  withdrew  from  the  army. 

His  services  did  not  end  with  his  military  career.  He  was  chosen  by  his  fellow- 
citizens  to  many  high  offices  of  honor  and  trust.  In  1778-9,  he  was  a  delegate  to 
the  old  Congress,  and,  for  several  years  after,  a  member  of  the  Senate  of  the  State 
of  New  York.  He  labored  assiduously  for  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  was  elected  to  the  Senate,  on  its  organization,  in  1789.  After 
serving  a  few  years  in  the  Senate  of  his  native  state,  he  was  once  more  elected  to 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  Ill  health  compelled  him  to  resign  his  seat  in  that 
august  body,  and  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  dignified  and  honorable  retire- 
ment, universally  venerated  and  beloved,  and  died  on  the  18th  of  November,  1804, 
at  the  age  of  seventy-one. 


JOHN    BROOKS. 


OVERNOR  JOHN  BROOKS  was  born  of  poor,  but  respectable,  parents,  in 
vJT  Medford,  Massachusetts,  in  1752.  His  father  was  a  farmer,  and  John  pursued 
the  same  vocation  during  the  early  part  of  his  life.  Without  the  advantages  of  aca- 
demic instruction,  he  acquired  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  his  own  and  the  Latin  tongue 
to  begin  the  study  of  medicine.  He  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession  in 
the  adjacent  town  of  Reading,  just  prior  to  the  difficulties  between  the  colonies  and 
the  mother  country.  He  entered  with  zeal  into  the  spirit  of  the  Revolution,  and 
supported  it  with  his  words  and  his  hands.  He  raised  a  company  of  minute-men, 
and  drilled  them  in  military  exercises,  himself  taking  lessons  from  the  manoeuvring 
of  the  British  army  in  Boston.  He  took  part  in  the  skirmishes  at  Lexington  and 
Concord,  and,  on  the  organization  of  the  army,  received  the  commission  of  major 
in  Colonel  Bridge's  regiment.  He  rendered  essential  aid  in  the  construction  of  the 
works  of  defence  on  Breed's  Hill,  going  the  rounds  with  Colonel  Prescott,  on  the 
night  of  the  16th  of  June.  They  reconnoitred  so  silently  as  to  hear  the  sentry  on 
board  the  British  man-of-war  proclaim  "  all's  well."  He  did  not  partake  of  the  glory 
or  toil  of  the  fight  of  the  17th,  having  been  despatched,  by  the  commanding  officer, 
to  the  head  quarters  of  Washington,  at  Cambridge,  which  duty  he  performed  on  foot. 

8 


103  JOHN    BROOKS. 

Major  Brooks  was  in  constant  service,  and  rendered  most  important  aid  to  the 
distressed  and  ill-disciplined  army  of  freedom.  An  excellent  disciplinarian,  his 
regiment  became  a  model  of  soldierly  bearing,  and  won  the  thanks  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief.  He  aided  in  the  construction  of  the  works  on  Dorchester  Heights, 
;md,  when  the  British  army  evacuated  Boston,  marched  with  Washington's  army  to 
Long  Island.  In  the  retreat  of  the  army  from  Long  Island,  as  well  as  in  the  subse- 
quent affair  at  White  Plains,  he  distinguished  himself  as  a  brave  and  skilful  officer. 

In  the  spring  of  1777,  Brooks,  having  been  made  lieutenant  colonel,  was  ordered 
to  join  the  northern  army,  under  Schuyler,  and  shared  the  toil  and  reverses  of  that 
disastrous  campaign.  He  took  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  battles  of  the  19th  of  Sep- 
tember and  7th  of  October,  and  shared  in  the  glorious  result  —  the  annihilation  of 
Burgoyne's  splendid  and  boastful  hosts.  He  was  with  the  army  in  its  winter  quar- 
ters at  Valley  Forge,  and  was  a  powerful  coadjutor  with  Baron  Steuben  in  improving 
the  discipline  and  comfort  of  our  miserably  accoutred  soldiers. 

When,  in  the  following  spring,  that  wide  defection  in  our  army,  which  came  so 
near  annihilating  the  hopes  of  every  true  patriot,  was  so  timely  discovered  by 
Washington,  Colonel  Brooks  was  one  of  the  fearless  few  who  never  faltered,  never 
doubted.  Then  that  noble  band  fought  their  most  glorious  battle,  in  which,  although 
no  blood  was  spilled,  more  glory  accrued  to  the  victors,  and  more  good  to  their  coun- 
try, than  by  all  the  sanguinary  victories  of  the  Revolution. 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  Dr.  Brooks  resumed  his  profession  in  Medford,  and,  by 
Hiis  urbanity  of  address  and  kindness  of  spirit,  soon  won  upon  the  regard  and  affec- 
tion /of  his  townsmen,  and  established  himself  in  a  respectable  and  growing  business. 
He  was  soon  called  to  public  life,  in  the  duties  of  which  he  exhibited  as  great  diplo- 
matic skill  as,  in  the  army,  he  had  military  knowledge  and  bravery.  He  was  made 
•a  major  -general  of  the  Massachusetts  militia  soon  after  the  close  of  the  war ;  was 
frequently  chosen  to  the  General  Court  of  the  commonwealth ;  was  a  delegate  to 
the  convention  of  1788,  elected  to  adopt  the  new  constitution ;  for  several  years  was 
,a  senator  in  the  Senate  of  Massachusetts,  and  member  of  the  executive  council; 
was  chosen  adjutant  .general  under  the  administration  of  Governor  Eustis ;  and,  in 
;L816,  he  succeeded  that  popular  public  officer  in  the  chief  magistracy  of  the  state, 
which  office  he  held  from  1816  to  1822,  discharging  its  duties  with  efficiency  andj 
-grace.  At  his  death,  he  held  the  office  of  president  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  So- 
ciety, the  Cincinnati  Society,  the  Washington  Monument  Society,  and  the  Bunker 
Hill  Monument  Association.  At  different  periods,  he  received  from  the  University  at< 
Cambridge  the  degrees  of  "  Master  of  Arts"  and  "Doctor  of  Laws."  He  died  in; 
January,  1825. 

Chief  Justice   Parker  speaks  thus  of  Governor  Brooks,  soon   after  his  decease : 
"  He  was  one  of  the  last  and  best  samples  of  that  old  school  of  manners  which, 
though  it  has  given  way  to  the  .ease  and  convenience   of  modern  times,  will  be 
regretted  by  some  as  having  carried  away  with  it  many  of  the  finest  and  most  del -2 
icate  traits  of  social  intercourse," 


BRIGADIER    GENERAL    HENRY    LEE. 


HENRY  LEE  was  born  in  Virginia,  on  the  29th  of  January,  1756,  and  was 
graduated  from  Princeton  College  in  1774.  The  troubled  period  of  history 
in  which  he  entered  upon  manhood  tested  the  metal  of  all  men  of  those  times.  The 
call  of  his  country  upon  young  Lee  found  a  quick  and  deep  response  in  his  patriotic 
breast,  and,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  we  find  him  in  command  of  a  company  of  horse, 
one  of  a  regiment  raised  by  Virginia  to  aid  in  the  war,  which  had  already  com- 
menced, and  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Theodoric  Bland.  Soon  after  joining 
the  main  army,  in  the  summer  of  1 777,  for  a  gallant  defence  of  his  troop  against 
the  attack  of  a  very  superior  force  of  British  cavalry,  he  received  the  thanks  of 
Washington,  and  a  major's  commission. 

In  1779,  Major  Lee  formed  a  plan  for  the  surprise  of  the  British  garrison  at  Powle's 
Hook,  which  he  executed  with  such  "  prudence,  address,  and  bravery,"  that  Congress 
voted  him  a  gold  medal,  commemorative  of  that  brilliant  affair,  and  created  him  a 
colonel.  In  the  campaign  of  1780,  he  participated  in  the  dangers  of  General  Greene's 
retreat  before  the  advance  of  Cornwallis,  forming  the  rearguard  to  the  retiring  army, 
and  exhibiting  great  courage  and  address.  The  retreat  safely  effected,  General 
Greene  despatched  Colonel  Lee  and  his  legion  to  watch  Cornwallis,  and  render  aid 


110  BRIGADIER     GENERAL    HENRY    LEE. 

and  encouragement  to  the  whigs  of  the  south.  In  this  desultory  duty,  he  was  en- 
gaged in  several  smart  skirmishes,  where  the  superior  skill  and  bravery  of  his  troop 
became  more  than  a  match  for  the  superior  numbers  of  the  enemy. 

The  battle  of  Guilford  checked  the  triumphant  march  of  Cornwallis,  and  caused 
him  to  retire  on  Wilmington.  In  this  battle,  Colonel  Lee  took  a  conspicuous  part, 
and  rendered  essential  aid. 

Leaving  Cornwallis  to  act  as  he  might  think  proper,  General  Greene  made  an  im- 
mediate movement  southward,  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  South  Carolina  and 
Georgia  to  the  Union.  This  plan,  of  such  importance  to  our  country,  was  the 
child  of  Lee,  and  readily  adopted  by  Greene.  Previous  to  his  departure,  General 
Greene  despatched  Lee  and  his  horsemen  to  join  our  glorious  Marion,  and  with  him 
to  assault  the  minor  posts  of  the  enemy  in  the  neighborhood.  Forts  Watson,  Mott, 
and  Granby  speedily  surrendered  to  the  headlong  prowess  of  these  brave  brethren 
in  arms ;  and  on  his  way  to  join  General  Pickens,  who  had  been  ordered  to  attempt 
the  possession  of  Augusta,  Lee  surprised  and  took  Fort  Galphin. 

On  the  reduction  and  surrender  of  Augusta,  which  soon  followed,  Lee  rejoined 
the  army  of  Greene,  and  rendered  essential  aid  in  the  siege  of  Ninety-Six,  and  the 
battle  of  Eutaw  Springs. 

Soon  after  this  latter  event,  Lee  was  despatched  to  the  army  under  Washington, 
then  set  down  before  Yorktown,  and  arrived  in  season  to  participate  in  the  glorious 
events  which  speedily  followed,  and  which  put  an  end  to  the  war  in  the  south. 
With  this  event  ended  the  active  military  life  of  this  brave  man,  of  whom  General 
Greene  said,  "His  services  have  been  greater  than  those  of  any  one  man  attached  to  the 
southern  army" 

On  his  return  home,  Colonel  Lee  married  the  daughter  of  Philip  Ludwell  Lee. 
Tn  1786,  he  was  selected  as  one  of  the  Virginia  delegates  to  the  general  Congress, 
and  held  his  seat  until  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution.  He  was  also  a 
member  of  the  convention  called  in  his  native  state  for  the  ratification  of  that  act. 
In  1792,  he  was  chosen  Governor  of  Virginia,  which  office  he  filled  for  three  suc- 
cessive years.  In  1799,  he  was  once  more  returned  to  Congress,  where,  on  the  death 
of  Washington,  he  was  selected  to  pronounce  the  eulogium  on  that  beloved  man. 
It  was  in  this  eulogy  that  occurred  those  memorable  words,  repeated  so  often  in  con- 
junction with  the  revered  name  of  Washington,  "  First  in  war,  first  in  peace,  and 
first  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen" 

While  accidentally  at  Baltimore,  during  the  year  of  1812,  in  defending  the  house 
of  his  friend  from  the  deadly  attacks  of  an  infuriated  mob,  he  received  such  injuries 
as  to  destroy  his  health,  which  continued  to  fail  until  the  25th  of  March,  1818,  when 
he  expired,  in  the  sixty-third  year  of  his  age. 

Open  and  cordial  in  his  address,  frank  and  confiding  in  his  friendships,  free  of 
purse  and  hospitable  of  board,  bold  and  chivalrous  in  the  defence  of  his  own,  as 
well  as  the  rights  of  others,  he  won  the  admiration  of  all  his  acquaintance,  and 
retained,  to  their  deaths,  the  love  and  esteem  of  his  brave  superiors,  Greene  and 
Washington. 


WILLIAM    PINKNEY. 


WILLIAM  PINKNEY  was  born  at  Annapolis,  Maryland,  March  17,  1764. 
His  father  was  a  staunch  loyalist,  and  sympathized  with  England  in  her 
struggle  for  supremacy  over  her  American  colonies  in  the  war  of  our  Revolution ; 
while  the  son  was,  from  earliest  life,  enlisted  on  the  side  of  the  patriots. 

With  an  extremely  deficient  early  education,  his  personal  application,  and  strong 
and  quick  natural  perceptions,  made  up  for  the  deficiency,  and  placed  him  among 
the  foremost  of  his  acquaintances  and  friends.  He  first  studied  medicine ;  but  feel- 
ing that  it  did  not  chime  with  his  inclinations,  he  turned  to  the  law,  and  was  admit- 
ted to  the  bar  in  1786,  removing  the  same  year  to  Harford  county,  for  the  practice 
of  his  profession.  In  1789,  he  married  Ann  Maria,  the  sister  of  Commodore 
Rodgers,  by  whom  he  had  a  numerous  family. 

In  1792,  Mr.  Pinkney  was  elected  a  member  of  the  executive  council,  and,  in 
1795,  a  delegate  to  the  state  legislature.  In  the  year  following,  he  was  appointed, 
by  President  Washington,  a  commissioner  of  the  TJnited  States,  under  the  seventh 


112  WILLIAM    PINKNEY. 


article  of  Mr.  Jay's  treaty,  and  embarked,  accordingly,  for  England.  During  his  res- 
idence abroad,  questions  of  most  vital  importance  on  international  law  and  reciprocity 
came  before  the  commissioners,  on  which  he  gave  his  written  opinions.  These 
papers  exhibit  a  profound  knowledge  and  clear  apprehension  of  the  subjects  dis- 
cussed, and  won  for  him  the  admiration  of  the  board,  and  the  praise  of  his  govern- 
ment and  countrymen. 

In  1805,  shortly  after  his  return  from  England,  he  removed  to  Baltimore,  and  was 
immediately  appointed  Attorney  General  of  Maryland.  In  the  following  year,  he 
was  once  more  sent  to  England,  to  treat  with  that  government  on  those  aggravating 
questions  which  resulted  in  the  war  of  1812.  After  spending  several  years  abroad, 
mostly  occupied  in  severe  diplomatic  labors,  he  returned  to  the  United  States  in 
1811,  In  September  of  the  same  year,  he  was  sent  to  the  Senate  of  Maryland, 
and,  in  December  following,  was  appointed,  by  President  Madison,  Attorney  General 
of  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Pinkney  entered  with  great  spirit  into  the  controversies  out  of  which  grew  the 
war  of  1812  ;  taking  the  democratic  side  of  the  question.  During  the  war,  he  com- 
manded a  battalion,  which  rendered  some  service.  He  fought  with  bravery  at  the 
battle  of  Bladensburgh,  and  was  severely  wounded  in  that  action.  Soon  after  this 
affair,  he  was  elected  to  Congress,  and,  in  1816,  was  appointed  minister  to  the  court 
of  St.  Petersburg, 

On  the  return  of  Mr.  Pinkney  from  Russia,  he  was,  in  1820,  returned  as  member 
of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  where  he  exhibited  his  great  knowledge,  and 
political  as  well  as  legal  acumen,  in  the  discussion  which  took  place  in  that  body  on 
the  admission  of  Missouri  into  the  Union.  While  in  the  Senate,  several  very  im- 
portant trials  came  before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  in  which  he 
Was  retained  as  counsel.  These  demanded  of  him  almost  superhuman  exertions, 
under  the  pressure  of  which  his  health  yielded^,  and  be  fell  a  prey  to  an  acute  disease 
pn  the  25th  of  Febraa^  1822, 

Thus  perished,  in  the  nfty-_ninth  year  of  his  age,  one  of  the  brightest  ornameats 
of  the  American  bar,  an,d  most  brilliant  statesmen  and  orators  of  his  age.. 


MAJOR  GENERAL  HENRY  KNOi. 


FEW  men  contributed  so  largely  to  the  success  of  our  revolutionary  struggle  as 
the  subject  of  this  notice.  As  the  projector,  author,  and  first  commander  of 
the  artillery  connected  with  the  Continental  army,  and  holding  the  first  post  of  com- 
mand of  that  portion  of  our  army  during  the  whole  war;  having,  as  he  had,  the 
entire  confidence  and  esteem  of  Washington,  and  fighting  by  his  side,  his  opportuni- 
ties were  equal  to  his  desire,  and  his  success  tantamount  to  his  genius  and  bravery. 

General  HENRY  KNOX  was  born  in  Boston,  July  25,  1750.  He  early  married  the 
daughter  of  a  staunch  loyalist,, and  was  already  an  officer  in  the  British  army  in 
Boston  when  the  struggle  of  the  Revolution  commenced.  His  whole  soul  was  fired 
in  the  cause  of  freedom,  and  he  contrived  to  escape  from  Boston,  and,  presenting 
himself  at  the  camp  of  Washington,  offered  his  services  to  his  country.  His  wife, 
who,  notwithstanding  her  tory  origin,  fully  sympathized  with  the  patriots,  accompa- 
nied him  in  his  flight,  secreting  her  husband's  sword  in  the  folds  of  her  petticoat. 


114  MAJOR    GENERAL    HENRY    KNOX. 

This  noble  woman  adhered  to  his  fortunes  through  eight  years  of  peril  and  anxiety, 
deprivation  and  labor,  and  had  the  holy  satisfaction  of  sharing  her  husband's  joy  in 
the  established  independence  of  their  native  land. 

When  young  Knox  presented  himself  at  Washington's  head-quarters,  our  army 
was  totally  destitute  of  cannon,  without  which,  he  felt  that  it  was  impossible  to 
cope  with  the  British  forces.  There  was  no  way  of  obtaining  this  needed  supply 
but  by  transporting  it  from  the  dilapidated  forts  on  the  Canadian  frontier.  This 
dangerous  and  almost  herculean  labor  was  triumphantly  performed  by  the  gallant 
young  officer,  and  an  artillery  department  of  respectable  force  was  thus  added  to 
our  army,  the  command  of  which  was  bestowed  upon  Knox,  with  a  brigadier  gen- 
eral's commission.  These  guns  were  planted  on  Dorchester  Heights,  and  the  British 
army  speedily  compelled  to  evacuate  Boston. 

General  Knox,  at  the  head  of  the  artillery,  was  in  constant  service  during  the 
entire  contest  which  succeeded,  and  generally  under  the  immediate  eye  of  Wash- 
ington, between  whom  and  himself  a  strong  affection  existed,  which  lasted  until  the 
death  of  his  distinguished  and  beloved  commander.  In  the  retreat  from  White 
Plains,  in  the  battles  of  Trenton  and  Princeton,  as  well  as  those  of  Brandywine, 
Germantown,  and  Monmouth,  as  also  at  the  siege  of  Yorktown,  Knox  and  his  artil- 
lery rendered  most  valuable  aid,  and  contributed  largely  towards  the  expulsion  of 
the  enemy  from  our  southern  shores.  When  Cornwallis  delivered  up  Yorktown, 
General  Knox  was  one  of  the  commissioners  to  negotiate  the  terms  of  capitulation. 

In  1785,  under  the  old  regime,  General  Knox  was  Secretary  of  War  until  the  new 
organization,  when  Washington  immediately  reappointed  him  to  the  same  office, 
which  he  continued  to  hold  until  1794,  when  Washington,  having  repeatedly  refused 
to  do  so,  reluctantly  consented  to  accept  his  resignation,  and  he  retired  to  his  farm, 
in  Thomaston,  Maine,  where  he  lived,  in  dignified  and  hospitable  retirement,  until 
the  25th  of  October,  1806,  when  he  died  suddenly,  in  the  fifty-seventh  year  of  his  age.. 

How  singular,  that  the  brave  warrior  should  tread  so  many  fields  of  blood  and 
carnage,  and  see  hundreds  falling  on  all  sides,  should  escape  so  many  thousand 
deaths,  to  come  at  last  to  his  end  by  the  most  insignificant  means !  The  death  of 
this  good  man,  and  patriot,  and  brave  soldier,  was  occasioned  by  swallowing  the 
bone  of  a  chicken  at  his  dinner! 

We  cannot  forbear  relating  a  singular  incident  in  the  life  of  this  brave  man. 
When  on  his  northern  expedition,  he  fell  in  with  Major  Andre,  and  travelled  in  his 
company.  The  result  of  this  accidental  meeting  was  a  mutual  attachment,  which 
grew  into  a  strong  friendship,  so  speedily  to  be  concluded  by  the  sanguinary  and 
ignominious  termination  of  the  life  of  one,  while  the  other  was  a  member  of  the 
court  martial  which  so  reluctantly  condemned  the  accomplished  young  Briton  to  the 
scaffold.  General  Knox  used  to  say  that  this  was  the  hardest  duty  he  ever  performed. 
We  can  well  conceive  it  to  have  been  so. 


PART     III. 


EMBRACING     THE     PERIOD 

/ 

SUBSEQUENT   TO   THE   WAR    OF 

1812. 


ANDREW    JACKSON. 

HERO  OF  NEW  ORLEANS  !  The  incorrigible,  the  impracticable,  the  indom- 
JL  itable,  the  incorruptible !  Headstrong,  but  always  honest ;  rash,  but  ever  patri- 
otic ;  he  may  have  erred  to  his  country's  detriment  at  times,  but  treason  had  no  place 
in  his  breast,  and  his  country's  good  was  his  highest  aim  next  to  duty  to  his  God. 
Fear  he  knew  not,  either  on  the  battle-field,  or  before  that  terrible  power,  PUBLIC 
OPINION.  His  purpose  once  taken,  no  threats  of  his  enemies,  no  persuasion  of  his 
friends,  and  no  personal  considerations,  could  shake  it.  Ever  ready  to  assume  the 
responsibility  of  his  actions,  he  shrunk  from  no  judgment  and  dreaded  no  conse- 
quences. 

Such  a  man's  life  must  needs  be  one  of  stirring  incidents,  and  such  a  man's  fame 
must  shed  resplendent  rays  over  the  page  of  his  history,  or  darken  with  clouds  of 
Erebus  the  fair  escutcheon  of  his  glory.  Accordingly  no  man  has  been  so  deified 
and  damned  as  the  subject  of  this  article,  as  friends  or  foes  have  spoken.  But  im- 
partial history  will,  we  think,  sustain  us  in  the  character  we  have  given  him  in  this 
brief  sketch. 

At  fourteen  years  of  age  he  commenced  his  military  career,  during  the  revolu* 
tionary  war,  and  at  that  tender  age  was  taken  prisoner  together  with  an  elder 


118  ANDREW    JACKSON. 

brother.  The  child  was  father  to  the  man.  When  ordered  by  a  British  officer  to 
the  performance  of  some  menial  duty,  he  refused  compliance,  and  was  severely 
wounded  with  the  sword  which  the  Englishman  disgraced. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  late  war  with  England,  Congress  having  voted  to  accept 
fifty  thousand  volunteers,  General  Jackson  appealed  to  the  militia  of  Tennessee,  when 
twenty-five  hundred  enrolled  their  names,  and  presented  themselves  to  Congress,  with 
Jackson  at  their  head.  They  were  accepted,  and  ordered  to  Natchez,  to  watch  the 
operations  of  the  British  in  lower  Mississippi.  Not  long  after,  he  received  orders 
from  head-quarters,  to  disband  his  men  arid  send  them  to  their  homes.  To  obey,  he 
foresaw,  would  be  an  act  of  great  injustice  to  his  command,  and  reflect  disgrace  on 
the  country,  and  he  resolved  to  disobey.  He  accordingly  broke  up  his  camp  and 
returned  to  Nashville,  bringing  all  his  sick  with  him,  whose  wants  on  the  way  he 
relieved  with  his  private  means,  and  there  disbanded  his  troops  in  the  midst  of  their 
homes. 

He  was  soon  called  to  the  field  once  more,  and  his  commission  marked  out  his 
course  of  duty  on  the  field  of  Indian  warfare.  Here  for  years  he  labored,  and  fought, 
and  diplomatized,  with  the  most  consummate  wisdom  and  undaunted  courage.  It 
was  about  this  time  that  the  treaty  of  the  "  Hickory  Ground  "  occurred,  which  gave 
the  familiar  sobriquet  to  the  general  of  "  Old  Hickory."  Finding  themselves 
hemmed  in  on  every  side,  the  Indians  determined  to  sue  for  peace.  One  of  the 
principal  chiefs  voluntarily  presented  himself  at  Jackson's  head-quarters,  and  with 
the  dignity  of  a  fallen  king,  which  would  have  shed  glory  on  any  civilized  hero, 
supplicated  pardon.  Jackson  was  struck  with  the  noble  bearing  of  the  prostrate 
chief,  and  determining  not  to  be  outdone  by  a'  savage,  suffered  him  to  depart  ii 
peace,  leaving  it  optional  with  him  to  join  his  tribe  and  assume  a  hostile  attitude,  or 
to  retire  from  the  scene  of  war ;  assuring  him  that  if  again  he  should  fall  into  his 
hands  his  life  should  be  the  forfeit. 

The  crowning  glory  of  his  whole  military  career  was  the  battle  of  New  Orleans; 
which  we  pass  over  with  this  brief  allusion,  because  so  indelibly  impressed  on  every 
American  memory,  and  not  likely  speedily  to  be  forgotten  by  the  enemies  of  our 
country. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to  his  home  in  Nashville ;  but  in  1818  was 
again  called  on  by  his  country  to  render  his  military  services  in  the  expulsion  of  the 
Seminoles.  His  conduct  during  this  campaign  has  been  bitterly  condemned,  and  as 
highly  applauded.  An  attempt  in  the  House  of  Representatives  to  inflict  a  censure 
on  the  old  hero  for  the  irregularities  of  this  campaign,  after  a  long  and  bitter  debate, 
was  defeated  by  a  large  majority. 

In  1828,  and  again  in  1832,  General  Jackson  was  elected  to  fill  the  presidential 
chair ;  thus  occupying  that  elevated  position  for  eight  successive  years.  It  was  a 
season  of  great  financial  embarrassment  and  internal  division,  and  the  measures  he 
recommended  and  adopted  were  stringent.  No  man  ever  received  more  censure  or 
praise  for  his  administration  of  public  affairs  ;  and  we  are  not  yet  sufficiently  removed 
from  the  scene  of  action,  calmly  to  judge  of  all  his  acts.  This  judgment  must  be 
left  to  posterity. 


JOHN    QTJINCY    ADAMS. 

FEW  men  have  passed  so  large  a  portion  of  life  in  active  public  employment  a? 
the  sixth  President  of  the  United  States.  For  more  than  threescore  years,  he 
was  in  the  service  of  his  country,  serving  her  in  many  capacities,  from  Secretary  of 
Legation  at  the  early  age  of  sixteen,  to  chief  magistrate  of  the  Union. 

JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS  was  born  at  Quincy,  Massachusetts,  on  the  llth  of  July, 
1767.  His  father  was  the  patriot  John  Adams,  of  whom  Jefferson  said,  "  He  was 
the  great  pillar  of  support  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  its  ablest 
advocate  and  champion  on  the  floor  of  the  house."  His  mother  was  the  daughter 
of  the  Rev.  William  Smith,  of  Weymouth,  a  woman  of  great  beauty  and  uncom- 
mon mental  and  moral  endowments,  in  whose  breast  the  fire  of  freedom  burned  as 
brightly  as  in  that  of  her  illustrious  spouse. 

Perhaps  there  never  transpired  a  happier  combination  of  circumstances,  to  de- 
velop true  genius,  than  fell  to  the  lot  of  young  Adams.  To  say  nothing  of  his 
parentage,  he  was  born  at  a  period  of  great  mental,  political  activity,  and  amidst 
scenes  whose  vibrations  filled  the  whole  earth  with  trembling.  His  childhood  passed 
amidst  the  smoke  and  blood  of  our  revolution,  and  his  position  placed  him  in 
conjunction  with  those  great  patriots  and  statesmen  who  were  the  unshrinking 


i:0  JOHN    QUINCY    ADAMS. 


advocates  and  champions  of  American  liberty.  From  early  childhood,  he  followed 
his  father  to  foreign  courts,  and  resided  abroad  mostly  until  after  the  scenes  of  the 
revolution  were  brought  to  a  close.  Wishing  to  avail  himself  of  a  classical 
education,  he  returned  to  his  native  land,  and  in  1786,  entered  Harvard  College,  as 
a  junior,  at  the  age  of  eighteen  ;  and,  on  graduating,  entered  the  law  office  of 
Theophilus  Parsons,  afterwards  the  dignified  chief  justice  of  Massachusetts  for  so 
many  years. 

Mr.  Adams  was  more  a  statesman  and  politician  than  a  lawyer,  and  during  the 
bitter  controversies  of  Washington's  administration,  wrote,  several  series  of  political 
articles  in  the  Boston  newspapers,  which  won  for  him  the  esteem  of  the  president, 
and  the  applause  of  some  of  the  greatest  minds  in  both  this  country  and  England; 
and  which  doubtless  occasioned  his  appointment  as  Minister  of  the  United  States 
at  the  Hague,  in  1794,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-seven. 

While  minister  at  Holland,  Mr.  Adams  was  married  to  Miss  Louisa  Catharine 
Johnson,  daughter  of  Joshua  Johnson,  Esq.,  of  Maryland,  United  States  consul  at 
the  port  of  London.  In  1797,  Mr.  Adams  was  transferred  to  Berlin,  whence  he 
was  recalled  in  1801.  Mr.  Adams  had  now  entered  upon  the  career  which  ter- 
minated only  with  his  life.  He  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  Massachusetts  in 
1802  —  appointed  United  States  Senator  in  1803  —  made  Professor  of  Rhetoric  and 
Belles  Lettres  in  Harvard  College  in  1805  —  sent  Minister  to  Russia  in  1809  —  one 
of  the  Commissioners  in  the  treaty  of  Ghent  in  1815  —  Minister  to  England  the 
same  year  —  appointed  Secretary  of  State  by  Mr.  Monroe  in  1817  —  elected  Pres- 
ident of  the  United  States  in  1825  —  chosen  Member  of  Congress  in  1831,  which 
office  he  filled  with  great  ability,  notwithstanding  his  great  age,  until  the  21st  of 
February,  1848,  when  he  was  struck  with  paralysis  at  his  post  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  died  two  days  afterwards,  at  the  great  age  of  eighty. 

Mr.  Adams  was   a  man  of  rare  gifts  and  rich  acquisitions.     A  diligent  student, 
and  economical  of  his  time,   he  found   opportunity,  amidst  all  his  public  cares,  tot  <. 
cultivate   his  tastes   for   literature    and   tne    sciences.     He  was    one    of  the    finest 
classical  and  belles-lettres  scholars  of  his  time,  and,  even  in  his  old  age,  often  aston- 
ished his  hearers  with  the   elegant  classical    allusions    and  rhetorical  tropes  with 
which  he  enriched  and   embellished    his    own    productions.     His    was,  withal,    an 
honest,  straightforward  mind,  which  not  even   his  devout  attachment  to  his  political  | 
party  was  able  to  turn  to  base  account,     A  dear  lover  of  freedom,  he  was  a  bold  ; 
promulgator  of  human  rights,  and   a  fearless  defender  of  the  oppressed,  wherever 
they  were  to  be  found,  and  in  whatever  clime. 

To  crown  the  whole,  John   Quincy  Adams  was   a  CHRISTIAN.     Not  a  mere  mem- 
ber of  a   conventicle  —  not   a    pharasaic   observer   of  outward   forms   alone  —  his  » 
religion  was  part,  and  largely  so,  of  his  nature,  and  entered  into  all  his  words  and  I 
acts,  and  gave  a  charm  and  a  grace  to  his  old  age  which  RELIGION  alorie  can  give. 


i 


ROBERT    FULTON. 

F  there  he  any  mind  commanding  the  reverence  of  the  ages,  it  is  that  which 

sees 

"  the  tops  of  distant  thoughts, 
Which  men  of  common  stature  never  saw." 


Such  was  the  gift  of  prophecy  with  which  the  Almighty  enmantled  the  soul  of 
ROBERT  FULTON,  whose  monuments  of  brass  and  iron  bestud  every  sea  and  land  in 
the  civilized  world,  and  which  shall  endure  as  a  proud  trophy  to  self-sacrificing,  ever- 
persevering  genius  while  the  earth  endures.  Such  was  the  man  whose  birth  was 
obscure,  and  whose  childhood  passed  in  neglect  and  ignorance. 

The  father  of  Robert  Fulton  was  an  Irish  emigrant,  who,  dying  when  he  was  a 
young  child,-  left  him  without  the  means  of  education,  and  scarcely  those  of  subsist- 
ence. The  place  which  gave  him  birth  was  an  obscure  town  of  Pennsylvania ;  the 
year,  1765;  —  the  world  is  his  birthplace,  all  time  his  natal  day! 

The  genius  of  Fulton  first  manifested  itself  in  drawing  and  painting,  and  at 
seventeen  we  find  him  in  Philadelphia,  not  only  earning  his  own  livelihood,  but 
supporting  his  widowed  mother  and  several  sisters.  He  spent  all  his  leisure  hours 
in  the  cultivation  of  his  intellect,  and  stored  up,  during  this  time,  no  inconsiderable 


122  ROBERT    FULTON. 

amount  of  solid  learning.  In  1786,  just  as  he  was  twenty-one,  he  went  to  Eng- 
land, and  soon  found  himself  domiciliated  beneath  the  roof  of  his  countryman 
Benjamin  West,  with  whom  he  remained  several  years,  and  between  whom  and 
himself  a  warm  friendship  sprung  up,  which  death  alone  interrupted. 

In  1796,  Mr.  Fulton  went  to  France,  and  for  seven  years  was  an  inmate  of  the 
family  of  his  countryman  Barlow.  During  this  period,  he  studied,  with  great  suc- 
cess, the  French,  Spanish,  German,  and  Italian  languages,  together  with  natural 
philosophy,  and  the  higher  branches  of  mathematics.  It  was  at  this  time,  also,  that 
he  determined  to  carry  his  long-cherished  plan  of  applying  steam  to  the  purpose? 
of  navigation  into  practical  and  useful  effect. 

For  many  years  steam  had  been  used  as  a  motive  power,  and  many  attempts  had 
been  made  to  apply  it  to  navigation ;  but  to  Mr.  Fulton  belongs  the  credit  of  having 
made  the  first  successful  application  of  steam  to  this  end.  In  1806,  he  returned  to 
his  native  country,  after  having  invented  and  made  so  many  successful  experiments 
with  his  celebrated  "  Nautilus  "  or  submarine  boat. 

Chancellor  Livingston  had  made  some  unsuccessful  experiments  in  steam  naviga- 
tion previous  to  Mr.  Fulton's  return,  and  had  obtained  from  the  New  York  legisla- 
ture the  passage  of  an  act  securing  to  him,  on  certain  conditions,  the  exclusive  right, 
for  a  term  of  twenty  years,  to  navigate  "  by  steam  or  fire  "  all  the  waters  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  -state.  Meeting  with  Mr.  Fulton  in  France,  he  felt  certain  that 
his  practical  good  sense  and  thorough  causality  would  accomplish  the  desirable 
results,  and  immediately  associated  him  in  the  undertaking,  and  procured  the 
renewal  of  the  act,  in  favor  of  Fulton  and  himself,  for  twenty  years  from  the  date 
of  its  passage. 

After  several  unsuccessful  experiments,  —  each  of  which,  while  it  subjected  them 
to  much  ridicule,  both  from  the  press  and  in  the  market-place,  only  added  to  the  con- 
fidence of  the  persevering  operators,  —  they  at  length  brought  their  boat  and  ma- 
chinery to  such  a  degree  of  perfection,  as  to  advertise  her  for  a  particular  day  on 
which  to  make  an  experimental  trip  to  Albany.  At  the  time  appointed,  a  crowd 
lined  the  wharves  and  shipping  in  the  neighborhood,  every  one  anxious  to  see  how 
the  matter  would  end.  Some  jeered,  others  laughed,  a  few  were  sanguine  of  suc- 
cess, and  the  multitude  looked  on  in  silence,  and  awaited  the  result.  But  when,  at 
length,  Fulton  cast  off  the  fasts  of  "  The  Clermont,"  and  she  stemmed  the  current 
of  the  noble  Hudson  at  the  rate  of  five  miles  per  hour,  a  sudden  change  took  place 
in  the  anxious  throng,  and  one  universal  and  prolonged  shout  announced  to  the 
world  the  triumph  of  Fulton  ! 

Mr.  Fulton  died  on  the  24th  of  February,  1815,  after  a  short  illness  occasioned 
by  exposure  in  superintending  the  construction  of  a  steam  frigate,  in  the  fifty-first 
year  of  his  age,  and  was  buried  with  civic  and  military  honors,  amidst  the  most 
marked  expressions  of  regret  and  respect. 


COMMODORE    WILLIAM    BAINBRIDGE. 


WILLIAM  BAINBRIDGE  was  born  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  May  7,  1774. 
His  early  education  was  received  in  a  common  English  school.  At  sixteen 
years  of  age,  he  entered  the  mercantile  business,  and  went  to  sea  in  the  employment 
of  a  house  in  Philadelphia.  On  a  voyage  to  Holland,  two  years  subsequently,  as 
mate  of  the  ship  Hope,  he  saved  the  life  of  his  captain  from  the  vengeance  of  a 
mutinous  crew ;  for  which  he  was  promoted  to  the  command  of  a  ship  trading  with 
the  Dutch,  and  continued  in  the  same  employ  until  1798,  when,  on  the  commence- 
ment of  hostilities  with  France,  our  government  appointed  him  to  the  command  of 
the  United  States  schooner  Retaliation,  of  fourteen  guns,  with  the  rank  of  lieutenant 
in  the  navy.  In  1800,  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  captain,  and  sailed  in  the 
frigate  George  Washington,  with  presents  to  the  Dey  of  Algiers.  From  this  place, 
he  sailed  to  Constantinople,  bearing  an  ambassador  with  presents  from  the  Dey  to 
the  Grand  Seignior  at  the  latter  place.  The  ambassador  was  received  with  insult, 
and  his  presents  rejected  with  scorn,  while  Bainbridge  and  his  flag  were  treated  with 
every  mark  of  respect.  On  his  return  to  Algiers,  war  was  declared  against  France, 
and  the  French  consul  and  all  other  citizens  of  France  were  ordered  to  quit  the  coun- 
try in  forty-eight  hours.  Captain  Bainbridge  received  them  all  on  board  his  frigate, 


124:  COMMODORE    WILLIAM    BAINBRIDGE 

and,  having  landed  them  at  Alicant,  sailed  for  Philadelphia,  where  he  arrived  in 
April,  1801. 

In  June  following,  in  command  of  the  Essex  frigate,  he  returned  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean, to  protect  our  commerce  against  Tripolitan  depredations.  In  1803,  he  was 
placed  in  command  of  the  frigate  Philadelphia,  and  joined  the  squadron  under 
Commodore  Preble;  and,  while  the  commodore  carried  on  negotiations,  Captain 
Bainbridge  proceeded  to  blockade  Tripoli  with  the  Philadelphia  and  Vixen.  In 
chasing  a  strange  sail,  the  frigate  ran  upon  a  reef  of  rocks,  and  was  captured  by  the 
enemy,  and  carried  into  the  harbor,  where  she  lay  until  burned  by  Decatur,  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1804. 

On  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  with  England,  in  1812,  Commodore  Bainbridge 
held  the  command  of  the  navy  yard  at  Charlestown,  but  was  soon  after  appointed 
to  the  command  of  the  Constellation ;  and,  on  the  arrival  of  the  Constitution  at 
Boston,  he  was  transferred  to  that  frigate,  and  in  a  short  time  rendered  his  name 
and  his  ship  famous  in  the  bloody  conflict  with  the  British  frigate  Java,  Captain 
Lambert,  which  he  captured,  with  only  a  loss  of  nine  men.  On  board  the  enemy's 
ship,  sixty  men,  besides  the  captain,  were  slain.  Finding  it  impossible  to  bring  the 
Java  to  the  United  States,  she  was  blown  up,  her  crew  set  on  shore  at  St.  Salvador, 
on  parole,  and  Bainbridge  returned  home,  where  he  and  his  crew  were  received  with 
every  demonstration  of  respect  and  enthusiasm.  This  was  the  second  British  man- 
of-war  this  noble  ship  had  destroyed  in  a  short  space  of  time,  and  she  became  the 
pride  of  the  nation.  From  the  little  damage  she  had  sustained  in  her  numerous 
conflicts  with  the  enemy,  she  received  the  sobriquet  of  "  Old  Ironsides,"  a  name 
which  awakens  a  thrill  of  national  pride  in  the  bosom  of  every  American  citizen, 
and  has  become  an  idol  to  every  sailor  who  loves  to  see  the  "  stars  and  stripes " 
floating  at  his  masthead. 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  Commodore  Bainbridge  sailed  once  more  to  the  Medil 
ranean,  in  command  of  the  Columbus  seventy-four.     This  was  the  last  cruise 
this  gallant  naval  officer,  after  which  he  retired  from  the  sea  altogether. 

On  his  return  home,  he  commanded,  for  several  years,  at  different  naval  statioi 
in  the  United  States,  and  was  also  one  of  the  Board  of  Naval  Commissioners.     H( 
died  in  Philadelphia,  on  the  27th  of  July,  1833. 

During  the  whole  course  of  his  public  life,  Commodore  Bainbridge  commanded 
the  entire  respect  of  his  fellow-officers,  and  his  countrymen  generally,  and,  at 
death,  was  sincerely  mourned  by  the  nation. 


MRS.    MARCIA    VAN    NESS. 


WOMAN'S  sphere  seldom  admits  of  ostentatious  parade,  and  rarely  gives 
opportunity  for  deeds  which  startle  or  dazzle  the  world ;  but  for  the  man- 
ifestation of  heroic  self-endurance,  and  sublime  energy,  it  is  not  less  rich  than  that 
in  which  moves  her  lord  and  master  —  proud,  imperious  man.  And  the  record  of 
her  virtues  belongs  as  much  to  history  as  the  recital  of  those  deeds  which  nearly  fill 
the  recorded  page  of  the  world's  actions. 

On  the  9th  of  May,  1782,  on  the  quiet  banks  of  the  Potomac,  the  wife  of  David 
Burns,  Esq.,  a  civil  magistrate  of  respectable  standing,  gave  birth  to  a  daughter,  who 
was  baptized  with  the  name  of  MARCIA.  As  she  grew  up,  her  physical  and  mental 
powers  developed  in  great  harmony  and  beauty.  To  a  person  of  exquisite  form  she 
added  a  softness  and  delicacy  of  mind  which  made  her  "  the  admired  of  all  behold- 
ers." No  pains  were  spared  with  her  education,  and,  while  the  graces  were  culti- 
vated, the  more  solid  accomplishments  were  not  neglected. 

As  she  reached  maturity,  she  insnared  the  heart  of,  and,  on  her  twentieth  birth- 
day, honored  and  blessed  with  her  hand,  the  Hon.  John  Van  Ness,  member  of 
Congress  from  the  State  of  New  York.  The  union  proved  to  be  a  happy  one,  and 
was  crowned,  the  following  year,  with  a  daughter,  —  the  only  offspring  to  this 


126 


MRS.     MARCIA     VAN     NESS 


.narriage,  —  who  grew  up  in  beauty  at  her  father's  hearth,  adorning  his  household, 
and  rewarding  the  tender  care  and  exceeding  love  of  her  parents  by  her  deep  religious 
character  and  lovely  temper.  At  the  age  of  eighteen,  she  became  the  wife  of  Arthur 
Middleton,  Esq.,  with  whom  she  lived  but  one  short  year,  when  she  died  in  giving 
birth  to  the  lifeless  form  of  a  son. 

It  is  at  this  point  that  the  true  character  of  Mrs.  VAN  NESS  began  to  manifest 
itself.  On  their  marriage,  Mr.  Van  Ness  removed  to  Washington,  where  he  held, 
for  many  years,  the  highest  municipal  offices,  and,  though  his  health  was  frail,  his 
house  at  once  became  the  centre  of  an  elegant  hospitality,  where  the  graces  and 
solid  domestic  qualities  of  its  hostess  became  the  theme  of  all  whose  good  fortune 
it  was  to  mingle  in  the  tasteful  reunions  which  enlivened  his  drawing-rooms,  or 
made  merry  at  his  board.  The  shock  produced  by  the  death  of  this  lovely  and  only 
child  was  terrible  to  the  doting  mother,  and  for  a  season  she  bowed  to  the  blast 
like  a  stricken  reed.  But  her  native  energy  of  character,  quickened  by  heavenly 
confidence  in  the  hand  which  had  chastised,  prevailed,  and  she  resumed  once 
more  her  noble  bearing  and  wonted  cheerfulness.  True,  sadness  made  its  deep 
lines  on  her  fair  face,  and  added  a  melancholy  sweetness  to  her  voice ;  but  a 
stranger  would  not  have  guessed 

"  How  living  and  how  deep  the  wound  " 

which  she  covered  up  so  sacredly  in  her  own  bosom. 

Her  home  had  ever  been  one  of  constant  care;  and  this  care,  maternal  and  Chris- 
tian, had  extended  to  the  lowest  menial  of  her  household.  But  now  she  felt  that 
her  heart  needed  a  larger  sphere  of  activity.  Several  years  prior  to  this  mournful 
event,  she  had  been  one  of  a  number  of  lady-patronesses  for  the  establishment  of  "  The 
Washington  City  Orphan  Asylum,"  and  to  this  institution  she  resolved  to  trans- 
fer her  maternal  solicitude  and  duties ;  and,  with  a  delicate  and  inconceivably  beau- 
tiful instinct,  determined  to  erect  as  a  monument,  beside  the  grave  of  her  daughter,  a 
splendid  and  spacious  building  for  the  use  of  that  benevolent  association.  This 
institution  she  endowed  with  her  fortune,  and  while  she  lived  devoted  most  of  her 
time  to  the  superintendency  of  its  affairs  as  First  Directress. 

It  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  a  higher  and  holier  exhibition  of  a  mother's  love,  and 
Christian  solicitude,  and  of  a  nobler  consecration  of  the  beautiful  gifts  with  which 
Providence  had  endowed  this  accomplished  woman.  She  died  on  the  9th  of  Sep- 
tember, 1832,  after  a  long  and  painful  illness,  at  the  age  of  fifty  years. 

"  Who  shall  weep  when  the  righteous  die  ? 

Who  shall  mourn  when  the  good  depart  ? 
When  the  soul  of  the  godly  away  shall  fly, 
Who  shall  lay  the  loss  to  heart  ?  "  —  Brainard. 


OSCEOLA 


THIS  remarkable  Indian,  sometimes  called  Powell,  was  born  in  the  Eveigladea 
of  Florida,  somewhere  about  the  year  1804.  His  father  was  chief  of  the  tribe, 
but  not  otherwise  notorious  than  by  his  vagabond  son,  who  spent  the  earlier  years 
of  his  life  in  most  inglorious  barbarism.  He  was  famous  for  his  sagacity  in  hunting, 
his  agility  and  strength  in  the  athletic  sports  practised  among  his  tribe,  such  as 
dancing,  racing,  shooting,  wrestling,  etc.  As  he  grew  up,  he  entered  fully  into  the 
grievances  of  his  tribe  with  the  whites,  and  when  the  "  war  of  title,"  otherwise 
called  the  "  Seminole  war,"  commenced,  he  at  once  took  the  field  in  defence  of  his 
fatherland. 

The  Seminoles  —  the  word  signifies  runaways  —  were  formerly  a  part  of  the 
Creek  nation,  and  emigrated  to  Florida,  where  they  increased  and  spread  themselves 
abroad,  until  they  became  a  great  and  powerful  people.  As  the  country  became 
occupied  by  the  whites,  the  hunting  grounds  of  these  "  runaways  "  were  needed  for 
the  habitation  of  the  white  man,  and  accordingly  negotiations  were  set  on  foot  by 
our  government  for  the  territory  they  occupied,  which  resulted  in  a  treaty,  stipulating 
the  conditions  of  the  relinquishment  of  their  title. ,  Here  commenced  the  real  diffi- 


128  OSCEOLA 

culty,  the  Seminoles  declaring  that  they  had  been  deceived,  and  the  treaty  thereby 
vitiated,  and  the  government  insisting  upon  its  fulfilment.  Negotiation  followed 
negotiation,  for  a  series  of  years,  when  war  was  carried  into  the  homes  of  the  poor 
Indian,  and  one  of  the  most  bloody  and  merciless  struggles  took  place  — the  whites 
striving  to  expel  the  savages,  and  the  Indians  struggling  to  maintain  and  defend 
their  homes  and  hunting  grounds.  Immense  treasures  and  oceans  of  blood  were 
expended,  and  for  years  nothing  was  won. 

In  the  early  part  of  this  cruel  war,  there  arose  an  athletic,  noble-looking  young 
man,  who,  by  universal  consent,  was  called  to  be  the  deliverer  of  his  people.  This 
was  no  other  than  OSCEOLA.  With  almost  superhuman  strength  and  energy,  he 
travelled  through  the  length  and  breadth  of  his  tribe,  encouraging  resistance  and 
slaughter  to  the  whites.  With  the  most  consummate  skill  he  evaded  the  American 
army,  and  beguiled  it  into  some  fatal  ambuscade,  where  it  fell  a  prey  to  savage 
cruelty.  And  when  he  could  no  longer  avoid  taking  the  field,  his  presence  inspired 
his  brethren,  and  his  wonderful  feats  in  arms  gave  heart  to  the  timid,  and  fired  each 
brave  with  a  more  determined  will.  He  was  foremost  in  every  fray,  and  his  place 
was  sure  to  be  where  the  blows  fell  fastest  and  hardest.  The  unerring  aim  of  his 
splendid  rifle,  and  the  exact  and  deadly  force  of  his  keen-edged  and  glittering  toma- 
hawk, told  fearfully  on  the  ranks  of  the  whites,  while  he  seemed  to  bear  a  charmed 
mail,  through  which  no  American  bullet  could  penetrate.  His  name  became  a  terror 
to  his  enemies,  and  to  his  fellow-braves  a  countersign  to  victory  and  glory. 

Thus,  for  years,  did  the  gigantic  mind  of  this  remarkable  chief  keep  at  bay  the 
wealth  and  wisdom  of  the  United  States,  when  at  length,  in  1838,  he  fell  into  a 
snare,  and  became  a  captive.  He  was  taken  to  Fort  Moultrie,  in  South  Carolina, 
where  his  mighty  spirit  chafed  itself  in  its  chains,  until  poor  Osceola  died  of  a 
broken  heart,  on  the  31st  day  of  January,  1839,  aged  about  35  years.  Thus 
perished,  in  the  early  years  of  his  manhood,  one  of  those  few  aboriginal  heroes 
whose  great  and  teeming  lives  deserve  a  full  and  elaborate  record  on  'the  page  of 
history  —  one  who,  "  from  a  vagabond  child,  became,"  as  says  the  Charleston  Mercury, 
"  the  master  spirit  of  a  long  and  desperate  war.  He  made  himself  —  no  man  owed 
less  to  accident.  Bold  and  decisive  in  action,  deadly  but  consistent  in  hatred,  dark 
in  revenge,  cool,  subtle,  sagacious  in  council,  he  established  gradually  and  surely  a 
resistless  ascendency  over  his  adopted  tribe,  by  the  daring  of  his  deeds,  the  constan- 
cy of  his  hostility  to  the  whites,  and  the  profound  craft  of  his  policy.  In  council 
he  spoke  little  —  he  made  the  other  chiefs  his  instruments  ;  and  what  they  delivered 
in  public  was  the  secret  suggestion  of  the  invisible  master.  Such  was  Osceola,  who 
will  be  long  remembered  as  the  man  that,  with  the  feeblest  means,  produced  the 
most  terrible  effects." 


' 


JOHN    C.    CALHOTJN 


JOHN  CALDWELL  CALHOUN,  the  most  distinguished  statesman  the  South 
has  ever  produced,  was  a  native  of  South  Carolina,  and  was  born  in  Abbe- 
ville District,  on  the  18th  of  March,  1782.  He  was  of  Irish  descent,  both  on  his 
father's  and  mother's  side,  and  his  family  furnished  several  distinguished  actors  in 
the  stirring  scenes  of  the  old  French,  Indian,  and  Revolutionary  wars.  Patrick 
Calhoun,  the  father  of  the  statesman,  was  a  bold  and  daring  man,  and  had  many 
personal  encounters  with  the  savages  who  dwelt  in  that  region.  An  anecdote  is 
related  of  him  which  illustrates  the  hazards  of  that  period  of  our  country's  history, 
and  the  many  shifts  to  which  the  inhabitants  were  often  driven.  Passing  one 
day  through  a  forest,  he  fell  in  with  a  stalwart  Indian.  Each  was  armed  with 
a  rifle.  The  discovery  was  mutual,  and  each  sought  the  nearest  screen  to 
his  person.  Calhoun  dropped  behind  a  log,  and  the  savage  retreated  to  the 
nearest  tree.  They  were  but  a  few  rods  apart,  and  as  the  slightest  exposure 
was  certain  death,  each  sought  to  seduce  the  other  from  his  hiding-place.  It 
occurred  to  Calhoun,  that  if  he  could  exhaust  the  Indian's  ammunition,  he  would 
have  him  at  his  mercy.  Gradually  raising  his  hat  on  a  stick  an  inch  or  two  above 
the  log,  he  was  gratified  to  find  it  instantly  perforated  with  the  Indian's  bullet.  He* 


130  JOHNC.    CALHOUN. 

thus  drew  the  fire  of  his  enemy  four  times,  when  the  savage,  supposing  that  he  ha:l 
slain  his  foe,  ventured  to  protrude  his  head  a  few  inches,  which  was  instantly  bored 
with  the  bullet  of  Calhoun,  who  returned  to  his  home,  bearing  the  red  man's 
scalp  as  a  trophy. 

From  such  stock  was  sprung,  and  amidst  such  scenes  was  nursed  and  grew  up, 
the  subject  of  this  memoir.  That  part  of  the  country  where  he  resided  was 
sparsely  settled,  and  infested  with  hordes  of  savages ;  schools  were  scarce  and  poor, 
with  not  an  academy  within  fifty  miles.  Although  he  had  a  great  passion  for 
reading,  and  devoured  every  book  which  fell  in  his  way,  yet  until  he  was  nineteen 
years  of  age,  his  education  was  nothing.  It  was  at  this  period,  A.  D.  1800,  that  he 
entered  the  academy  of  Rev.  Dr.  Waddel,  in  Columbia  county,  Georgia.  This 
clergyman  married  a  sister  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  but  at  the  time  spoken  of,  was  living 
with  his  second  wife.  Here  his  progress  was  so  rapid,  that  in  two  years  he  entered 
Yale  College  as  a  junior,  and  in  1804,  graduated  with  the  highest  honors  of  his 
class,  just  four  years  from  the  time  ,of  commencing  his  Latin  grammar.  During 
his  college  life,  he  gave  brilliant  signs  of  his  coming  greatness.  President  Dwight 
—  between  whom  and  himself  a  strong  attachment  had  grown  up  —  once  said  of 
him,  "  That  boy  Calhoun  has  talent  enough  to  be  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  will  become  one  yet,  I  confidently  predict." 

The  three  following  years  were  devoted  to  the  study  of  his  profession.  He  imme- 
diately applied  for  and  obtained  a  license,  and  opened  an  office  in  his  native  district, 
where  he  entered  at  once  into  a  full  and  successful  practice  of  the  law.  But  the 
bar  was  destined  to  be  shorn  of  this  beam  of  light.  The  troublous  times  of 
1810-12  called  forth  the  energies  of  the  wisest  and  the  best  men,  and  Mr.  Calhoun 
was  unanimously  called  to  the  forum.  The  attack  of  the  British  frigate  Leopard 
on  the  American  frigate  Chesapeake  hastened  the  crisis,  and  war  was  declared  by 
Congress  in  1812.  Mr.  Calhoun  could  not  remain  an  idle  spectator  of  these  passing 
events.  He  mixed  himself  up  with  them,  and  was  elected  to  the  legislature  of  his 
state,  where  he  served  two  years,  with  marked  ability.  Politics  ran  high,  and  Mr. 
Calhoun  associated  himself  with  the  Republican  party. 

In  1811,  Mr.  Calhoun  took  his  seat  in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  as  a  member  of 
the  Twelfth  Congress,  from  his  native  district.  This  was  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able sessions  of  Congress  ever  yet  held ;  and  Mr.  Calhoun  soon  took  a  leading  part 
in  the  great  controversies  which  agitated  the  country,  and  made  his  name  famous 
among  the  great  names  in  that  august  body.  His  measures  and  speeches,  through- 
out the  six  years  he  was  a  member  of  Congress,  exhibit  great  statesmanship  and 
patriotism. 

When  Mr.  Monroe  came  into  office,  he  called  on  Mr.  Calhoun  to  preside  at  the 
bureau  of  the  War  Department.  He  introduced  many  reforms  into  that  department, 
and  gave  a  character  to  our  military  organization  not  before  attained. 

At  the  election  which  sent  the  names  of  Adams,  Jackson,  and  Crawford  to  the 
House,  as  candidates  for  the  presidency,  Mr.  Calhoun  was  chosen  Vice  President  by 
a  large  majority.  On  resigning  that  office  he  was  soon  returned  as  United  States 
.Senator,  which  office  he  held  with  distinguished  ability  up  to  the  time  of  his 
(decease,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  years,  during  which  he  was  Secretary  of 
State  under  Mr.  Tyler.  He  died  at  Washington,  March  31,  1850. 


COMMODORE    THOMAS    MACDONOUGH. 


THE  name  of  MACDONOUGH  has  a  charm  which  few  great  names  possess.  The 
temptations  of  place  and  power  are  so  many  and  so  alluring,  that  but  com- 
paratively few  find  themselves  able  to  resist  them.  This  brave  officer  seems  to  be 
among  the  exceptions.  Not  only  did  he  keep  himself  free  from  all  great  vices, 
but  he  never  debauched  himself  with  those  lesser  sins  which  the  young,  hot  blood 
is  so  ready  to  call  trivial.  His  more  graceless  companions  set  snares  for  his  feet,  but 
he  was  never  caught.  It  is  a  pleasure  —  heightened  by  its  rare  occurrence — to 
record  such  Spartan  self-conquest,  such  heroic  virtue  ;  it  is  the  fine,  pure  setting  to 
the  portrait  of  his  gallant  deeds. 

In  the  wintry  month  of  December,  1 783,  in  the  county  of  Newcastle,  and  state 
of  Delaware,  our  hero  first  saw  the  light  of  day.  It  is  a  source  of  regret  that  the 
early  history  of  this  gallant  officer  is  lost.  At  the  age  of  fifteen,  he  obtained  a  mid- 
shipman's warrant  in  the  navy.  It  was  his  fortune  to  lead,  for  some  time,  a  life  of 
inglorious  inaction.  His  character  is  spoken  of  in  praise,  as  "  a  young  gentleman 
of  great  address  and  high  promise,  a  favorite  with  both  officers  and  men." 

In  the  Tripoline  war,  Macdonough  had  an  opportunity  to  test  his  metal,  and  to 
give  forth  to  the  world  the  promise  of  his  future  prowess.  When  the  brave  Decatur 


132  COMMODORE    THOMAS    MACDONOUGII 

determined  to  burn  the  frigate  Philadelphia,  which  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  our 
enemies,  he  selected  Macdonough  as  one  of  the  young  gallants  for  that  dangerous 
expedition.  His  cool  and  fearless  bearing  in  this  bold  and  hazardous  undertaking 
won  for  him  the  thanks  of  his  superiors. 

While  first  lieutenant  of  the  Siren,  as  she  lay  at  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Gibraltar, 
and  during  the  absence  of  the  commander,  a  boat,  sent  from  a  British  man-of-war, 
boarded  an  American  brig,  anchored  near  the  Siren,  and  impressed  one  of  its  sea- 
men. Manning  a  gig,  with  a  greatly  inferior  force,  he  overtook  the  boat  of  the 
pressgang,  and  acted  so  boldly  and  promptly  as  to  overawe  the  officer  of  the  boat, 
and  recapture  the  seaman  who  had  thus  unceremoniously  been  kidnapped.  The 
British  captain,  repairing  in  hot  rage  on  board  the  Siren,  demanded  to  know  of 
Macdonough  how  he  dared  act  thus.  He  replied,  "  The  man  is  an  American  sea- 
man, and  I  Iiave  only  done  my  duty."  The  captain  swaggered,  and  fumed,  and 
swore  that  he  "  would  bring  his  ship  alongside,  and  send  him  and  his  craft  to  the 
bottom."  "  That  you  can  do,"  was  the  gallant  answer  to  this  brutal  threat,  "  but 
while  she  swims  that  man  you  will  not  have."  After  much  more  fuming  and 
swearing,  the  British  officer  said  to  him,  "  Supposing  I  had  been  in  that  boat,  would 
you  have  dared  to  commit  such  an  act  ?  "  "I  should  have  made  the  attempt,  sir,  at 
all  hazards,"  was  the  cool  reply.  "  What,  sir,"  in  great  rage,  asked  the  captain,  "  if 
I  were  to  impress  men  from  that  brig,  would  you  interfere  ?  "  "  You  have  only  to 
try  it,  sir,"  was  the  pithy  answer.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  such  undaunted  courage 
prevented  any  further  attempts  on  the  brig. 

From  the  close  of  the  Tripolitan  war  until  the  war  of  1812,  although  Macdonough 
was  actively  employed,  no  opportunity  offered  itself  in  which  his,  gallantry  was 
called  into  exercise  ;  but,  in  1814,  when  "  the  flower  of  Wellington's  army  and 
the  cream  of  Nelson's  marines  "  were  collected  on  the  borders  of  the  lakes,  our  gal- 
lant sailor  was  ordered  to  Champlain  to  superintend  the  construction  of  a  fleet  to 
resist  the  attempt  of  the  British  to  gain  entire  mastery  over  the  inland  waters  of  our  ; 
country.  Nobly  did  he  respond  to  the  call  of  patriotism  in  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
naval  contests  of  the  whole  war,  in  which  he  won  one  of  the  most  decisive  victories 
on  record.  With  a  greatly  inferior  force  in  ships,  in  metal,  and  in  men,  he  utterly 
annihilated  the  English  squadron,  and  took  every  sail,  save  one  or  two  small  gun- 
boats, which  escaped  only  because  the  sinking  condition  of  many  of  his  ships 
required  the  assistance  of  every  hand  in  the  fleet. 

For  this  splendid  affair,  Congress  voted  him  honors  and  a  thousand  acres  of  val- 
uable land.  The  cities  of  New  York  and  Albany  also  voted  him  land,  and  Mac- 
donough was  advanced  to  the  honors  and  emoluments  of  the  rank  of  post  captain. 
His  health  had  been  gradually  failing  him  for  some  years,  and  on  the  10th  of  No- 
vember, 1825,  he  died  of  consumption,  in  Middletown,  Connecticut,  where  he  had 
resided  since  the  war. 


NOAH   WEBSTER,   LL.  D. 


NOAH  WEBSTER  was  bom  in  West  Hartford,  in  the  State  of  Connecticut, 
on  the  16th  of  October,  1758.  When  fourteen  years  of  age,  he  commenced 
the  study  of  the  classics,  under  the  instruction  of  the  Rev.  Nathan  Perkins,  D.  D.  ; 
and  in  1774  was  admitted  a  member  of  the  Freshman  class  in  Yale  College,  and 
graduated  with  reputation  in  1778. 

In  1781,  he  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of  the  law,  a  profession  which  he  had 
studied  in  the  intervals  of  his  regular  employment.  While  engaged  in  his  studies, 
he  noted  down  every  word  whose  meaning  he  did  not  distinctly  understand,  for  the 
purpose  of  further  examination.  The  number  of  words  thus  noted,  of  which  he 
could  find  no  definitions  at  all,  or  only  very  imperfect  ones,  deeply  impressed  upon 
his  mind  the  deficiencies  of  the  best  dictionaries  then  in  use. 

In  1783,  he  removed  to  Hartford,  where  he  published  the  "  First  Part  of  a  Gram- 
matical Institute  of  the  English  Language."  The  second  and  third  parts  were  pub- 
lished in  the  years  immediately  following.  These  books,  comprising  a  Spelling 
Book,  an  English  Grammar,  and  a  compilation  for  reading,  were  the  first  books  of 
the  kind  published  in  the  United  States.  In  the  winter  of  1784-5,  he  published  his 
"  Sketches  of  American  Policy." 

In  1789,  Mr.  Webster  married  a  daughter  of  William  Greenleaf,  Esq.,  of  Boston, 


134  NOAH    WEBSTER,    LL.  D 


a  lady  of  a  highly-cultivated  intellect,  and  of  great  elegance  and  grace  of  manner?:. 
His  friend  Trumbull  speaks  of  this  event  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Wolcoit,  who  was 
then  at  New  York,  in  his  characteristic  vein  of  humor.  "  Webster  has  returned? 
and  brought  with  him  a  very  pretty  wife.  I  wish  him  success  ;  but  I  doubt,  in  the 
present  decay  of  business  in  our  profession,  whether  his  profits  will  enable  him  to 
keep  up  the  style  he  sets  out  with.  1  fear  he  will  breakfast  upon  Institutes,  dine 
upon  Dissertations,  and  go  to  bed  supperless." 

In  1793,  he  removed  to  New  York,  and  there  established  a  daily  paper,  called  the 
Minerva,  with  which  he  connected  a  semi-weekly  paper,  called  the  Herald,  names 
which  were  afterwards  changed  to  those  of  the  Commercial  Advertiser,  and  the 
New  York  Spectator. 

In  1795,  he  published,  in  vindication  of  Mr.  Jay's  treaty  with  Great  Britain,  to 
which  there  was  violent  opposition,  a  series  of  papers,  under  the  signature  of  Cvrtius. 

In  1799,  he  published,  in  twro  volumes  octavo,  his  "  History  of  Pestilential  Dis- 
eases." In  1802,  he  published  his  celebrated  treatise  on  the  "  Rights  of  Neutrals;  " 
and  the  same  year,  historical  notices  of  "  Banking  Institutions  and  Insurance  Of- 
fices." In  1798,  Mr.  Webster  removed  to  New  Haven. 

In  the  preface  to  his  "  Compendious  Dictionary,"  published  in  1806,  he  announced 
to  the  world  that  he  had  entered  upon  the  great  labor  of  his  life,  that  of  compiling  a 
new  and  complete  dictionary  of  the  English  language. 

Mr.  Webster  removed,  in  1812,  to  Arriherst.  Here  he  entered  with  his  character- 
istic ardor  into  the  literary  and  social  interests  of  the  place  ;  and  represented  the 
town  at  different  times  in  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts. 

In   1822,  Mr.  Webster  returned  to  New  Haven.     In  1823,  he  received  the  degree 
of  LL.  D.  from  Yale  College.     In   June,  1824,  he  sailed  for  Europe,  with  a  view  to. 
perfect  his  work,  by  consulting  literary  men  abroad,  and  by  examining  standard  au-^ 
thors,  to  which  he  could  not  have  access  in  this  country.     He  spent  two  months   at 
Paris  in  consulting  rare  works  in  the  Bibliotheqm  du  Roi,  and  then  went  to  Eng- 
land, where  he  remained  till  May,  1825.     He  spent  several  months  at  the  University 
of  Cambridge,  where  he  had  free  access  to  the  public  libraries. 

An  edition  was  published  in  1828.     This  contained  twelve  thousand  words,  and 
between  thirty  and  forty  thousand  definitions,  not  found  in  any  preceding  dictiona— 
ry.     An  edition  was  soon  after  published  in  England.     In  1841,  another  edition  was 
published  in  this  country,  containing,  with  those  in   the   addenda,  about  eighteen 
thousand  additional  words. 

Besides  his  principal  productions,  above  mentioned,  there  are  numerous  others  to 
be  included  in  a  complete  list  of  his  writings.  Dr.  Webster  loved  truth  in  all  its 
manifestations,  whether  in  science  or  art,  whether  in  politics  and  history  or  in  mor- 
als and  religion.  Equally  remarkable  was  his  love  of  virtue.  In  his  last  days,  he 
enjoyed  the  hopes  of  the  gospel.  Death  took  him  not  by  surprise.  When,  after  a 
short  illness,  the  announcement  of  his  approaching  dissolution  was  made  to  him, 
"  I  am  ready,"  was  his  simple  and  sublime  reply.  "  I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed ; 
I  have  no  doubts,  no  fears."  He  died  on  the  28th  of  May,  1843,  in  the  eighty-fifth 
year  of  his  age. 

NOTE.  —  The  above  sketch  has  been  compiled  from  the  Memoir  of  Mr.  Webster  prefixed  to  his  Dic- 
tionary. 


ALBERT    GALLATIN. 


ALBERT  GALLATIN  was  born  at  Geneva,  January  29,  1761.  He  was 
descended,  both  on  the  paternal  and  maternal  side,  from  some  of  the  oldest 
and  most  distinguished  families  of  Geneva  and  Switzerland.  In  1779,  he  gradu- 
ated at  the  university  at  Geneva,  and  the  following  year  came  to  the  United  States, 
having  declined  a  commission  in  the  army  of  one  of  the  German  sovereigns,  being 
then  only  nineteen  years  of  age.  Such  was  his  love  for  a  republican  form  of 
institution,  that  he  offered  his  services  to  our  government  as  soon  as  he  arrived,  and 
was  immediately  appointed  to  the  command  of  a  fort  in  Machias,  Me.,  then  a  part 
of  Massachusetts.  In  1782,  he  was  appointed  French  tutor  in  the  university  at 
Cambridge,  but  left  in  1784,  and  removed  to  Virginia.  Having  received  from  Eu- 
rope his  patrimony,  he  purchased  a  plantation  in  that  state,  but  from  some  cause 
did  not  settle  upon  it;  and  in  1786,  he  once  more  changed  his  location,  and  planted 
himself  on  the  banks  of  the  Monongahela,  in  Pennsylvania. 

Mr.  Gallatin  was  soon  brought  into  public  life,  having  been  elected  in  1789  a 
member  of  the  convention  to  amend  the  constitution  of  the  State,  and  in  the  two 
succeeding  years  a  member  of  the  legislature.  In  the  measures  suggested  by  him 
for  the  resuscitation  of  the  credit  of  Pennsylvania,  he  gave  an  earnest  of  those  finan- 
cial abilities  which  afterwards  rendered  him  so  eminent  in  the  administration  of  the 


136  ALBERT    GALLATIN 

national  treasury.  In  1793,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Hannah,  daughter  of  Jamea 
Nicholson,  Esq.,  with  whom  he  lived,  until  within  a  few  months  of  his  own  death,  in 
the  enjoyment  of  great  domestic  peace  and  happiness.  The  same  year  he  was 
elected  a  Senator  of  the  United  States.  His  eligibility  having  been  assailed  on 
the  ground  that,  though  an  American  anterior  to  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution, 
and  therefore  eligible  to  the  Presidency,  nine  years  had  not  elapsed  since  his  formal 
naturalization  in  Virginia,  his  seat  was  vacated  by  a  strictly  party  vote.  Immedi- 
ately on  the  decision  of  the  Senate  being  promulgated,  and  without  his  knowledge, 
Mr.  Gallatin  was  elected  a  member  to  the  House  of  Representatives  from  a  district 
of  Pennsylvania,  where  he  did  not  reside,  but  which  continued  to  him  its  confidence 
during  his  whole  congressional  career. 

In  1801,  Mr.  Jefferson  called  Mr.  Gallatin  to  a  seat  in  his  cabinet,  and  he  contin- 
ued at  the  head  of  the  treasury  department  during  the  whole  of  Mr.  Jefferson's 
administration.  His  management  of  the  fiscal  affairs  of  the  nation  at  once  estab- 
lished his  reputation  as  a  statesman,  and  won  the  confidence  of  the  citizens  of  the 
United  States.  In  1813,  he  went  to  St.  Petersburg,  as  one  of  the  Envoys  Extraor- 
dinary to  negotiate  with  Great  Britain  under  the  mediation  of  Russia ;  and  in  1814, 
at  Ghent,  in  connection  with  John  Quincy  Adams,  James  A.  Bayard,  Henry  Clay, 
and  Jonathan  Russell,  he  signed  the  treaty  of  peace. 

In  1815,  Mr.  Gallatin,  with  Mr.  Adams  and  Mr.  Clay,  went  to  London,  where 
they  concluded  the  commercial  convention  with  Great  Britain.  In  Paris  he  resided 
as  the  Minister  of  the  United  States  from  1816  to  1823,  during  which  time  he  was 
also  employed  on  extraordinary  missions  to  the  Netherlands  and  Great  Britain.  In 
his  last  mission  to  London,  in  1827—28,  he  obtained  full  indemnification  for  the 
injuries  sustained  by  our  southern  fellow-citizens  in  the  violation  of  the  treaty  of 
Ghent,  besides  concluding  three  other  conventions  of  national  importance.  Besides 
these  honors,  Mr.  Gallatin  declined  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State,  tendered  to  him 
by  Mr.  Madison,  and  that  of  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  proffered  him  by  Mr.  Monroe. 
In  1824,  he  also  declined  the  nomination  to  the  office  of  vice  president  of  the 
United  States,  offered  by  the  democratic  party. 

In  1831,  he  was  an  efficient  member  of  the  Free  Trade  Convention,  and  wrote 
the  memorial  to  Congress,  which  embodies  the  views  that  are  now  the  recognized 
principles  of  the  democratic  party.  As  President  of  the  National  Bank,  which 
office  he  held  from  1831  till  he  was  succeeded  in  it  by  his  son,  Mr.  James 
Gallatin,  in  1839,  he  gave  to  the  other  institutions  of  the  city  an  illustration,  in  prac- 
tice, of  the  correct  principles  of  banking.  He  was  among  the  earliest  advocates 
of  an  enlarged  system  of  instruction,  and  aided  largely  in  the  establishment  of  the 
New  York  University.  He  was,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  President  of  the  New 
York  Historical  Society,  and  of  the  American  Ethnological  Society,  an  institute 
which  mainly  owes  its  origin  to  him.  Besides  Mr.  Gallatiirs  numerous  writii 
on  currency  and  other  subjects  connected  with  finance,  and  his  official  papei 
which  constitute  no  unimportant  part  of  our  national  archives,  he  has  publish* 
some  elaborate  essays  on  the  Indian  language ;  and  his  last  intellectual  effbi 
were  divided  between  his  investigations  of  the  language  and  civilization  of  the 
Southern  and  Western  tribes  of  this  continent,  and  his  essays  against  war,  addressed 
to  tne  interest  as  well  as  the  moral  obligations  of  nations. 

He  died  at  Astoria,  Long  Island,  on  the  12th  of  August,  1849. 


PHILIP    SYNG    PHYSIC,   M.  D. 


THE  department  of  medicine  abounds  with  great  and  heroic  names.  The  deck 
of  a  frigate,  in  a  desperate  naval  engagement,  or  the  most  ensanguined  field 
of  battle,  offers  no  wider  range  for  the  display  of  all  those  elements  which  constitute 
real  greatness,  than  the  sick  chamber,  or  the  amputating  room  of  a  hospital.  The 
surest  mark  of  genius  is  self-command  —  the  power,  in  an  emergency,  as  on  ordi- 
nary occasions,  to  bring  into  calm  and  efficient  action  all  the  mental  and  physical 
energies  of  one's  nature.  To  none  is  the  occasion  oftener  presented  for  the  display 
of  this  gift  than  to  the  surgeon  and  physician. 

If  this  be  a  true  definition  of  greatness,  the  subject  of  this  memoir  is  entitled  to 
be  called  a  great  man  and  a  genius.  PHILIP  SYNG  PHYSIC  was  born  in  the  city  oi 
Philadelphia,  July  7,  1768.  His  early  education  was  such  as  most  worthy  and  judi 
cious  parents,  having  at  heart  the  best  welfare  of  their  child,  could  provide.  Aftei 
the  usual  course  of  study  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  he  took  his  degree  oi 
bachelor  of  arts  in  May,  1785,  and  immediately  commenced  the  study  of  medicine, 
under  the  tutelage  of  Dr.  Adam  Kuhn,  a  quite  celebrated  physician,  and  pupil  of 
LinnaBus.  After  a  most  thorough  course  of  reading,  and  a  devotion  to  the  means 
of  obtaining  a  perfect  knowledge  of  his  profession  rarely  equalled,  young  Physic 
sailed  for  Europe,  to  finish,  in  the  best  medical  schools  in  the  old,  what  he  had  so 


133  PHILIP     SYNG    PHYSIC,    M.    D. 

well  commenced  in  the  new  world.  He  was  particularly  fortunate  in  the  associ- 
ations he  here  formed.  Admitted  to  the  "  Royal  College  of  Surgeons,"  in  London, 
young  Physic  had  the  rare  fortune  to  receive  the  marked  attentions  of  the  celebrated 
Hunter,  between  whom  and  himself  a  warm  friendship  sprung  up  which  lasted  to 
the  close  of  his  life.  While  here,  he  was  appointed  house  surgeon  to  St.  George's 
Hospital,  for  the  usual  period  of  one  year,  and,  on  leaving  it,  became  an  inmate  of 
Mr.  Hunter's  family.  Every  inducement  was  offered  Dr.  Physic  to  remain  in  Lon- 
don, but  he  had  resolved  to  devote  his  knowledge  and  talents  to  his  own  country- 
men. Receiving  his  diploma  from  the  college,  and  bidding  his  friend  Hunter 
farewell,  in  the  year  1791  he  took  his  final  leave  of  London  and  went  to  Edin- 
burgh, where,  for  the  space  of  more  than  a  year,  he  applied  himself  with  the  utmost 
diligence  in  obtaining  all  the  medical  knowledge  the  rare  facilities  of  the  university 
of  that  city  afforded.  Receiving  his  degree  of  M.  D.,  he  returned  to  his  native  coun- 
try, and  established  himself  as  a  physician  and  surgeon  in  Philadelphia. 

Dr.  Physic  commenced  his  professional  career  under  the  most  flattering  circum- 
stances. Possessed  of  uncommon  mental  powers  by  nature,  set  off  with  a  fine  and 
commanding  person,  and  having  enjoyed  the  most  ample  opportunities  for  qualify- 
ing himself  for  his  duties,  —  opportunities  which  he  had  seduously  and  faithfully 
improved,  —  he  at  once  rose  to  eminence  in  his  profession,  and  entered  into  a  wide 
and  most  successful  practice.  Kind  hearted  and  sympathetic,  he  wron  the  love  and 
confidence  of  his  patients,  while,  by  the  pure  and  upright  course  of  his  life,  he  se- 
cured the  esteem  and  respect  of  his  fellow-citizens. 

While  serving  in  the  Bush  Hill  Hospital,  during  the  prevalence  of  the  yellow 
fever,  Dr.  Physic  received  from  the  governor  the  appointment  of  alderman,  and  did 
much  in  quelling  those  awful  riots  which  were  the  result  of  this  sad  visitation. 
On  the  subsidence  of  the  disease,  he  removed  once  more  to  the  city,  and  devoted 
himself  to  the  practice  of  his  profession.  In  1794,  he  was  elected  one  of  the  sur- 
geons to  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital,  and  also  one  of  the  physicians  to  the  Philadel- 
phia Dispensary.  While  holding  these  offices,  he  contributed  very  largely  to  the 
materia  medica,  and  to  the  surgical  knowledge  and  practice,  of  those  institutions. 

In  1797  —  99,  the  yellow  fever  once  more  ravaged  that  fated  city,  and  Dr. 
Physic  was  found  in  the  front  rank  of  those  noble  souls  who  perilled  health  and  life 
in  the  cause  of  humanity.  Twice  he  was  stricken  down,  and  his  recovery  from  the 
last  attack  was  slow  and  doubtful.  In  1800,  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Emlin,  by 
whom  he  had  two  sons  and  as  many  daughters.  In  1801,  he  was  appointed  surgeon 
extraordinary  to  the  Philadelphia  Almshouse  Infirmary.  In  1802,  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society.  In  1805,  he  was  appointed  to  the 
chair  of  surgery  in  the  university.  In  1814,  he  suffered  an  attack  of  typhus  fever, 
from  the  effects  of  which  he  never  fully  recovered.  In  1819,  he  was  transferred  from 
the  chair  of  surgery  to  that  of  anatomy,  in  the  same  institution.  In  1821,  he  re- 
ceived the  appointment  of  consulting  surgeon  to  the  Institution  for  the  Blind,  and, 
in  1822,  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Phrenological  Society  of  Philadelphia.  In 
1829,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Medicine  of  France.  In 

1836,  he  was  made  an  honorary  member  of  the  Royal  Medical  and  Chirurgical  So- 
ciety of  London.     Thus,  with  his  honors  clustering  around  his  head,  he  brought  to 
its  close  a  long,  useful,  and  honorable  career,  and  died  on  the  15th  of  December, 

1837,  aged  sixty-eight  years. 


ZACHARY    TAYLOR. 

MAJOR  GENERAL  TAYLOR  was  born  in  the  county  of  Orange,  in  Vir- 
ginia, in  the  year  1790.  After  receiving  such  an  education  as  the  times 
permitted,  General  Taylor  entered  the  army,  with  a  commission  of  lieutenant  in  the 
7th  infantry,  under  the  administration  of  Jefferson,  in  1808.  He  was  then  eighteen 
years  of  age.  When,  on  the  19th  of  June,  1812,  war  was  declared,  Taylor,  who  had 
previously  received  a  captain's  commission,  held  command  of  Fort  Harrison,  andr 
with  a  handful  of  men,  defended  himself  against  the  attack  of  a  large  body  of  Indians^ 
with  such  skill  and  bravery,  that  Madison  bestowed  upon  him  the  brevet  of  major. 

From  this  period  until  1840,  Taylor  passed  his  life  in  an  almost  incessant  warfare 
with  the  various  savage  tribes  in  the  west,  where  he  signalized  himself  by  repeated 
acts  of  bravery,  and  by  the  exhibition  of  a  sagacious  forecast,  which  won  for  him  the 
approval  of  the  nation.  Meanwhile  he  had  passed  through  the  grades  of  lieutenant 
colonel  and  colonel,  and  held  at  this  date  a  brigadier  general's  commission. 

When  it  became  evident  to  the  government  that  a  war  with  Mexico  must 
speedily  occur,  General  Taylor  was  ordered,  with  his  army,  to  occupy  a  position  on 
the  American  side  of  the  Rio  Grande,  with  instructions  not  to  cross  the  river  unless 
the  Mexicans  should  make  the  first  attack. 

10 


40  ZACHARY     TAYLOR 


On  the  25th  of  July,  General  Taylor  reached  the  Island  of  St.  Joseph's,  and  from 
thence  removed  to  Corpus  Christi,  in  August.  From  this  place  he  sent  out  a  party 
of  reconnoissance,  who  recommended  Point  Isabel  as  a  suitable  place  for  a  depot. 
Here  he  built  Fort  Brown,  which  lies  on  the  Rio  Grande,  nearly  opposite  Mata* 
tnoras.  It  was  now  that  hostilities  commenced,  the  Mexicans  attacking  Fort  Brown 
General  Taylor  heard  of  the  dangerous  position  of  his  troops  and  stores  at  Point 
Isabel,  and  determined  to  succor  and  relieve  the  place.  But  there  was  a  Mexican 
army  between  him  and  Point  Isabel,  not  less  than  five  thousand  strong,  ready  to 
dispute  every  inch  of  his  way.  With  only  two  thousand  one  hundred  men,  General 
Taylor  determined  to  cut  his  way  through  to  Fort  Brown.  This  he  effected  in  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  military  campaigns  history  has  ever  recorded,  during  which  were 
fought  the  glorious  battles  of  Palo  Alto  and  La  Resaca  de  la  Palma,  and  in  which 
fell  so  many  brave  and  gallant  men. 

The  attack  on  Matamoras,  the  storming  of  Monterey,  the  sanguinary  battle  of 
Buena  Vista,  and  the  hundred  skirmishes  which  took  place  in  that  year  under 
General  Taylor,  form  a  page  in  history  which  will  bear  comparison  with  any  other 
that  has  been  written.  With  one  third,  and  often  less,  of  the  force  of  the  Mexicans, 
General  Taylor  met  them  on  their  own  ground  ;  having  to  contend  with  all  the  difficul- 
ties of  climate,  distance  of  home,  and  an  army  composed  of  a  majority  of  men  who 
had  never  before  seen  a  battle-field ;  and  always  conquered.  His  perfect  coolness, 
his  majestic  courage,  his  keen  sagacity,  his  admirable  generalship,  —  true  constitu- 
ents of  a  military  hero,  —  are  apparent  in  camp,  in  council,  and  in  the  field,  and 
have  won  for  him  undying  laurels  ;  while  his  kind  and  dignified  demeanor  ingratiat- 
ed him  with  all  his  officers  and  soldiers.  His  name  dwelt  on  every  lip,  his  praise 
rung  in  every  ear.  Every  where  he  was  received  with  marked  demonstrations  of 
respect  and  affection.  At  New  Orleans,  the  mayor,  in  his  address  to  the  old  general, 
embodied  the  sentiment  of  the  American  public  ;  for  although  many  were  loud  in 
their  denunciations  of  the  war,  all  agreed  in  according  him  the  same  meed  of  praise. 
"  For  such  achievements,  General,  every  true  American  heart,  from  one  end  to  the 
other  of  the  republic,  is  filled  with  gratitude  and  admiration.  Wherever  you  direct 
your  steps,  upon  any  spot  where  the  star-spangled  banner  triumphantly  expands  its 
folds  to  the  breeze,  you  will  find  a  nation's  love  to  greet  you  ;  you  will  have  a  whole 
nation's  spontaneous  applause,  extolling  the  splendor  of  your  deeds,  which  your 
modesty  would  in  vain  endeavor  to  weaken  in  your  own  eyes." 

From  the  battle  of  Buena  Vista  to  the  close  of  the  war,  General  Taylor  remained 
in  a  state  of  inactivity,  and  could  only  behold  from  a  distance  the  triumphal  march 
of  Scott  from  Vera  Cruz  to  the  city  of  Mexico,  without  so  much  as  drawing  his 
sword  once  in  all  these  gallant  exploits. 

At  length  a  peace  was  conquered  from  Mexico,  and  General  Taylor  retired  to 
his  farm  at  Baton  Rouge,  full  of  honors  as  of  years. 

In  1848,  General  Taylor  was  elected  to  fill  the  presidential  chair,  and  was  inau- 
gurated on  the  4th  of  March  following.  He  survived  his  inauguration  but  little 
more  than  a  year,  when  he  sunk  under  his  cares  and  responsibilities,  and  yielded  up 
his  spirit  on  the  9th  of  July,  1850.  The  fatigues  of  the  camp,  the  dangers  and 
hardships  of  many  an  ensanguined  field,  could  not  subdue  the  old  chief;  but  the 
intrigues  of  a  cabinet  were  too  much  for  him,  and  he  fell  a  prey  to  the  care?  and 
anxieties  of  his  new  and  exalted  condition. 


JOSEPH    STORY,    LL.l) 


distinguished  jurist  and  excellent  man  was  born  in  Marblehead,  Essex 
county,  Massachusetts.  In  1798,  he  was  graduated  at  Harvard  College,  with 
marked  distinction,  and  studied  law  in  the  office  of  Judge  Putnam,  of  Salem, 
where  he  established  himself  as  a  lawyer.  He  entered  early  into  political  life, 
and  was  sent  to  the  General  Court,  for  several  years,  a  representative  from  the  an- 
cient town  (now  city)  of  Salem,  and  presided  over  that  body  for  a  length  of  time. 
"  In  1809,  he  was  chosen  a  representative  to  Congress,  to  fill  a  vacancy  in  Essex 
South  District.  He  served  in  this  body  with  much  distinction,  but  declined  a 
reelection.  In  1811,  he  was  appointed  by  President  Madison  a  judge  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States."  For  sound  legal  learning,  for  deep,  discrim- 
inating sagacity,  for  unswerving  rectitude,  — -  those  important  prerequisites  in  a 
judge,  —  no  one  was  his  superior.  "  The  wisdom  of  the  selection  was  immediately 
indicated  by  the  distinguished  ability  which  he  displayed;  and  each  succeeding  year 
added  to  the  splendor  and  extent  of  his  judicial  fame.  He  moved  with  familiar 
steps  over  every  province  and  department  of  jurisprudence.  All  branches  of  the  law 
have  been  illustrated  and  enlarged  by  his  learning,  acuteness,  and  sagacity  ;  and  of 
some,  he  has  been  the  creator.  His  immortal  judgments  contain  copious  stores  of 


142  JOSEPH    STORY,    LL.D. 

ripe  and  sound  learning,  which  will  be  of  inestimable  value,  in  all  future  times,  alike 
to  the  judge,  the  practitioner,  and  the  student." 

In  1829,  he  was  appointed  Dane  Professor  of  Law,  in  the  Law  School  of  Har- 
vard University,  and  removed  from  Salem  to  Cambridge,  the  seat  of  the  college, 
where  he  resided  until  his  death,  in  September,  1845. 

Both  in  his  professorship  and  his  office  of  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  Mr. 
Story  was  a  most  diligent  student  and  laborious  writer.  His  extended  reputation 
drew  multitudes  from  all  parts  of  the  union  to  the  school,  and  to  his  untiring  exer- 
tions is  to  be  attributed  the  great  success  of  the  school.  "  As  a  teacher  of  jurispru- 
dence, he  brought  to  the  important  duties  of  the  professor's  chair  the  most  exuberant 
learning,  the  most  unwearied  patience,  a  native  delight  in  the  great  subjects  which 
he  expounded,  a  copious  and  persuasive  eloquence,  and  a  contagious  enthusiasm, 
which  filled  his  pupils  with  love  for  the  law,  and  for  the  master  who  taught  it  so 
well.  All  his  teachings  were  illumined  by  the  loftiest  morality,  and  never  failed  to 
show,  that  whosoever  aspired  to  the  fame  of  a  great  lawyer  must  be  also  a  good 
man." 

Judge  Story  early  commenced  his  literary  career,  and,  amidst  the  cares  and  duties 
of  office,  found  time  to  dally  occasionally  with  the  muses,  and  to  roam  over  the 
fields  of  polite  learning.  But  his  great  labors  lay  in  the  duties  of  his  double  office 
as  judge,  and  head  of  the  Law  School,  —  which  were  most  assiduously  and  faith- 
fully discharged,  —  and  in  the  composition  and  publication  of  many  valuable  works 
on  questions  of  law  and  equity,  not  to  mention  addresses  before  various  societies, 
eulogies  on  eminent  men,  and  contributions  to  some  of  the  best  literary  and  scien- 
tific journals  of  the  day.  He  was  a  man  of  whom  it  might  eminently  be  said,  he 
had  no  idle  hours.  His  life  was  crowded  with  usefulness ;  he  did  much,  and  did  it 
well.  "  Whatever  subject  he  touched,"  —  these  are  his  own  words,  in  reference  to  a 
noble  compeer  who  had  just  passed  away  from  his  side,  — "  was  touched  with  a 
master's  hand  and  spirit.  He  employed  his  eloquence  to  adorn  his  learning,  and  his 
learning  to  give  solid  weight  to  his  eloquence.  He  was  always  instructive  and 
interesting,  and  rarely  without  producing  an  instantaneous  conviction.  A  lofty 
ambition  of  excellence,  that  stirring  spirit,  which  breathes  the  breath  of  heaven,  and 
pants  for  immortality,  sustained  his  genius  in  its  perilous  course." 


WILLIAM    ELLERY    CHANNING,   D.  D. 

THIS  celebrated  divine,  the  champion  for  free  thought  and  free  limbs,  was  born 
at  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  April  7,  1778.     As  a  boy,  he  was  at  once  beautiful, 
thoughtful,  and  amiable,  conciliating  all  hearts,  and  winning  the  love  of  his  friends 
and  teachers.     He  was  patient  as  a  pupil,  and  applied  himself  diligently  to  what- 
ever task  was  assigned  to  him ;  but  in  no  way  precocious  or  brilliant.     At  a  very 
early  age,  he  was  imbued  with  religious  reverence,  and,  while  a  mere  child,  thought 
rith  an  unusual  degree  of  mental  vigor  upon  the  abstruse  dogmas  of  theology.     He 
was  the  soul  of  honor,  and  ever  ready  to  take  the  part  of  the  oppressed  among  his 
playmates.      Washington   Allston,  the  poet-painter,   describes    him    as   "  an    open, 
brave,  and  generous  boy." 

At  the  age  of  twelve,  he  was  removed  from  the  home  of  his  childhood,  and  placed 
in  the  family  of  an  uncle,  in  New  London,  to  prepare  himself  for  college.  He  was 
entered  as  freshman,  in  Harvard  University,  in  1794.  His  collegiate  course  was 
marked  by  close  application  to  his  studies,  a  strict  observance  of  all  the  re- 
quirements of  the  government,  and  the  most  faultless  deportment.  In  1798,  he 
was  graduated  with  the  highest  honors  of  his  class. 

After  spending  a  couple  of  years  as  tutor  in  the  family  of  David  Meade  Ran- 


WILLIAM    ELLERY    CHANNING,    D.    D. 

dolph,  Esq.,  of  Richmond,  Virginia,  he  returned  to  Cambridge,  with  the  purpose  of 
pursuing  his  studies  preparatory  to  entering  the  ministry.  In  1801,  he  was  made 
regent  in  Harvard  University.  The  following  year,  having  been  licensed  by  the 
"  Cambridge  Ministerial  Association,"  he  commenced  preaching.  He  soon  received 
an  invitation  to  settle  over  the  Federal  Street  Society,  in  Boston,  where  he  received 
ordination  on  the  1st  of  June,  1803.  He  retained  the  office  of  pastor  of  this  church 
and  society  until  his  death,  which  occurred  at  Bennington,  Vermont,  on  the  2d  of 
October,  1842,  while  on  a  journey  for  his  health. 

Dr.  Channing's  stature  was  small,  and  his  appearance  ever  gave  the  beholder 
the  most  painful  convictions  of  an  infirm  constitution  and  a  very  depressed 
condition  of  health.  When  he  rose  to  speak,  his  voice,  scarcely  arising  above  a 
tremulous  whisper,  caused  a  strong  feeling  of  disappointment  and  regret ;  but,  as  he 
warmed  with  his  theme,  his  form  seemed  to  dilate,  until  you  forgot  his  diminutive- 
ness,  and  his  voice  rose  to  such  a  clear,  sonorous  note,  that  every  vibration  thrilled 
you  to  the  very  soul.  Few  men  were  so  eloquent  as  he  ;  but  it  was  not  the  elo- 
quence of  the  schools.  The  greatness  of  his  subject,  the  solemnity  of  his  mission, 
the  consciousness  of  the  immeasurable  worth  of  the  human  soul,  and  the  solemn 
and  manly  earnestness  with  which  he  sought  to  make  it  free  in  Christ ;  these  were 
the  elements  of  his  subduing  eloquence  —  an  eloquence  which  enchained  the  souls 
of  his  auditors,  and  melted  them  into  tenderness  and  humility. 

Dr.  Channing  was  an  uncompromising  advocate  of  human  freedom.  He  sought 
with  all  his  might  to  take  away  the  irons  from  the  limbs  of  the  enslaved,  and  to  dis- 
inthrall  the  human  mind  from  the  fetters  of  party  and  the  debasing  creeds  of  sects. 
He  was  an  ardent  patriot,  and  his  heart  bled  for  every  stain  which  fell  upon  the 
escutcheon  of  his  country's  glory.  While  he  abhorred  war  and  all  the  glory  of  it, 
and  labored  through  his  life  for  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  our  land,  his  indignation 
knew  no  bounds  towards  those  who  sought  to  fetter  the  free-born  human  mind.  He 
had  the  highest  reverence  for  the  individual  and  independent  man,  and  he  could  have 
no  patience  with  those  weaklings  who  were  ready  to  sell  their  birthright  for  a  mere 
mess  of  pottage,  and  no  charity  for  the  tyrants  who  were  ready  lordlily  to  usurp  that 
glorious  prerogative  of  every  human  soul.  He  disdained  all  party  bounds  or  bands. 
When  the  New  England  church  divided  on  what  were  called  the  Unitarian  and  Cal- 
vinistic  doctrines,  he  took  the  liberal  side,  only  as  choosing  the  least  of  two  evils,  and 
labored  while  he  lived  to  do  away  all  sectarian  names  and  badges,  and  to  bring  all 
real  and  sincere  believers  together  under  the  broad  and  catholic  name  of  CHRISTIANS. 

Dr.  Channing  was  a  man  of  the  purest  life  and  spirit.  The  sins  which  so  easily 
beset  and  contaminate  many  great  and  good  men  were  shed  by  the  immaculate 
mantle  of  his  life  without  leaving  a  trace  behind  —  "  in  him  there  was  no  guile."  In 
his  presence,  others,  who  had  no  very  great  sins  to  reproach  themselves  withal,  felt 
rebuked,  and  retired  from  his  society  with  an  humiliating  consciousness  of  their  n*vn 
inferiority  in  all  that  constitutes  "  the  pure  in  heart." 


COMMODORE  OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY. 


OLIVER  HAZARD  PERRY,  the  "  Hero  of  Lake  Erie,"  was  born  in  Newport.. 
Rhode  Island,  in  August,  1785.  He  was  entered  as  midshipman  in  the  navy 
of  the  United  States  at  the  early  age  of  twelve,  and  accompanied  his  squadron  to 
the  Mediterranean  during  the  Tripoline  war,  where  his  urbanity  and  quick  appre- 
hension of  his  duties  secured  the  decided  approval  of  his  superiors. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war  of  1812,  young  Perry  was  ordered  to  the  command 
of  a  flotilla  of  gunboats  in  the  harbor  of  New  York,  with  the  grade  of  lieutenant. 
Disgusted  with  this  dull  and  uneventful  service,  he  was,  at  his  own  request,  trans- 
ferred to  the  lakes,  and  soon  stationed,  by  Commodore  Chauncey,  on  Lake  Erie, 
Here  his  free  and  active  spirit  had  full  scope,  and,  as  commander  of  a  squadron 
which  he  had  been  instrumental  in  creating,  he  fought  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
naval  battles  on  record,  and  won  for  himself  a  renown  deathless  as  the  name  of  the 
inland  sea  whose  shores  echoed  to  the  booming  of  his  victorious  cannon.  For  this 
action  Congress  voted  him  thanks,  and  created  him  a  captain  in  the  navy. 

The  enemy  having  been  driven  from  the  lakes,  Commodore  Perry  was  ordered  to 
the  command  of  the  small  naval  force  on  the  Potomac,  to  aid  in  the  defence  of  the 


14:6  COMMODORE    OLIVER    HAZARD     PERRY. 

capital,  on  which  the  British,  under  General  Ross  and  Admiral  Cockburn,  were 
concentrating  their  forces,  and  which  resulted  in  its  downfall. 

In  1815,  Commodore  Perry  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  Java  frigate, 
and  sailed  with  Decatur's  squadron  to  the  Mediterranean,  for  the  purpose  of  hum- 
bling the  Dey  of  Algiers,  who  had  taken  the  opportunity  of  our  occupancy  with  the 
war  to  prey  upon  our  commerce.  This  mission  was  successfully  accomplished,  and 
the  Dey  compelled  to  accede  to  such  terms  as  our  government  chose  to  offer. 

On  his  return  to  the  United  States,  and  while  his  ship  was  lying  at  Newport, 
information  was  brought  him  of  the  distressing  and  perilous  condition  of  a  merchant- 
ship  lying  on  a  reef  about  six  miles  below.  It  was  midwinter ;  but  immediately 
manning  his  boat,  and  cheering  his  men  with  "  Come,  my  boys,  we  go  to  rescue  the 
-shipwrecked  mariner,"  he  succeeded  in  delivering  eleven  of  his  fellow-beings  from  a 
most  painful  death.  In  this  act  there  is  more  of  manly  heroism  than  in  a  hundred 
battles  bravely  fought:  those  show  the  dauntless  warrior  —  this,  the  brave  man! 

In  1819,  Commodore  Perry  sailed  for  the  West  Indies,  under  sealed  orders,  to  take 
the  command  of  that  station.  For  a  long  time  those  seas  had  been  infested  with 
bands  of  lawless  freebooters,  who  had  become  the  terror  of  all  navigators  of  those 
waters,  and  our  government  had  resolved  to  extirpate  them,  cost  what  it  might.  It 
was  a  difficult  and  arduous  service,  and  Perry  was  selected  on  account  of  his  pe- 
culiar fitness  for  the  duty.  But  he  was  not  permitted  to  justify  the  selection.  The 
yellow  fever  already  prevailed  in  the  fleet  on  his  arrival,  and  he  early  fell  a  victim  to 
its  ravages.  His  death  occurred  on  the  23d  of  August,  1820.  In  the  height  of  his 
usefulness,  and  the  very  heyday  of  his  existence,  he  was  cut  off,  amidst  the  lamen- 
tations of  the  whole  country.  He  was  buried  with  military  honors,  and  every  mark 
of  respect  was  paid  to  his  memory  by  Congress,  and  many  of  the  state  legislatures. 

None  of  our  military  or  naval  officers  have  received  a  greater  share  of  popular 
favor  than  the  subject  of  this  memoir.  In  person  he  was  elegant  and  imposing, 
with  an  easy  address,  which  made  him  a  favorite  with  all  classes.  His  talents  were 
of  a  high  order,  and  he  had  cultivated  them  to  a  large  degree.  Forecast  was  his 
most  prominent  trait  of  character;  and  he  rarely  failed  of  success  in  his  plans,  so 
carefully  did  he  calculate  beforehand  its  chances  and  mischances. 

Beneath  a  suitable  monument,  erected  to  his  memory  by  the  legislature  of  Rhode 
Island,  his  ashes  repose  in  his  native  town ;  and  thither  have  flocked,  and  will  still 
flock,  crowds  of  admiring  patriots,  to  do  homage  to  his  memory. 


DE    WITT    CLINTON. 


THE  name  of  DE  WITT  CLINTON  is  forever  associated  with  progress.  His  endur- 
ing monument  is  the  great  Erie  Canal,  a  work,  for  its  time,  never  excelled  in  this 
country,  and  although,  in  the  advance  of  mind,  it  may  be  destined  to  fall  more  and 
more  into  desuetude,  it  will  forever  stand  out  as  one  of  the  giant  creations  of  a 
colossal  mind. 

This  eminent  statesman  and  politician  was  born  in  the  state  of  New  York,  on  the 
2d  of  March,  1769.  At  the  close  of  the  revolutionary  war,  in  1784,  he  entered  Co- 
lumbia College  as  junior,  and  was  graduated,  in  1786,  first  scholar  in  his  class.  He 
studied  law  in  the  office  of  Samuel  Jones,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1789, 
opening  his  office  in  the  city  of  New  York.  Scarcely,  however,  had  he  commenced 
the  practice  of  his  profession,  when  he  received  an  appointment  as  private  secretary 
to  his  uncle,  Governor  Clinton.  Thus  introduced  to  political  life,  he  pursued  it 
until  death.  At  this  time  he  held,  also,  the  office  of  secretary  to  the  regents  of  the 
university,  and  the  board  of  fortifications  of  New  York. 

In  1797,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Assembly,  from  the  city  of  New  York ; 
and  the  next  year,  he  was  sent  to  the  state  Senate.  While  in  this  office,  he  signal- 
ized himself  as  a  ready  and  forcible  debater. 


118  DE    WITT    CLINTON. 

In  1802,  Mr.  Clinton  was  elected,  by  the  legislature  of  New  York,  senator  of  the 
United  States.  He  held  this  office  during  two  sessions,  when  he  resigned,  having 
been  elected  to  the  mayoralty  of  New  York  city.  While  in  the  Senate,  he  gave  his 
support  to  Mr.  Jefferson  and  his  party. 

Mr.  Clinton  continued  in  his  office  of  mayor  until  1815,  with  the  exception  of  two 
years,  and,  during  this  time,  he  was  repeatedly  sent  to  the  Senate  of  his  native  state, 
where  he  introduced  a  number  of  important  laws,  and  developed  his  plans  for  inter- 
nal improvement. 

In  1811,  he  was  elected  lieutenant  governor.  While  an  incumbent  of  that  office, 
he  ran  as  candidate  for  President  of  the  United  States,  in  opposition  to  Mr.  Mad- 
ison, who,  however,  triumphed  over  his  opponent.  This  occurred  at  the  time  of 
high  political  excitement,  when  the  virus  of  party  hate  was  most  deadly ;  and  Mr. 
Clinton  shared,  in  common  with  all  unsuccessful  aspirants  for  high  honors,  its  baleful 
effects. 

The  character  of  Mr.  Clinton,  however,  was  too  well  established  in  his  native 
state  to  be  easily  shaken,  and,  in  1817,  he  was  elected  governor  almost  without 
opposition.  He  was  reflected  in  1820.  On  the  adoption  of  the  new  state  constitu- 
tion, he  retired  from  office,  but  was  again  elected  in  1824.  and  retained  the  office 
until  his  death. 

Meanwhile  the  great  project  of  Mr.  Clinton  had  been  carried  forward  to  its  grand 
consummation,  and  the  autumn  of  1825  witnessed  the  triumphant  completion  of 
"  The  Great  Erie  Canal"  and  an  explosion  of  joy  through  the  entire  length  of  the 
land. 

Mr.  Clinton  was  the  patron  and  friend  of  popular  education,  and  of  all  those  combi- 
nations of  mind  which  have  for  their  object  the  improvement  of  the  moral  and  phys- 
ical condition  of  his  fellow-men.  Agriculture,  commerce,  internal  improvements,  edu- 
cation, the  arts  and  sciences,  provisions  for  the  insane,  for  the  sick,  for  the  blind,  for 
the  convict,  —  all  these  received  a  share  of  his  attention,  and  found  in  him  an  advo- 
cate and  a  friend.  His  was  a  most  versatile  mind,  and  he  seemed  to  be  at  home  in 
whatever  department  of  political  or  civil  life  he  happened  to  be  placed.  He  had  a 
word  for  all  occasions,  and  a  hand  for  every  good  work.  A  man  of  such  a  universal 
genius  must  be  expected  to  have  some  strong  points  of  character,  and  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  he  had  a  few  vigorous  and  wakeful  enemies,  who  were  ever  on  the 
watch  for  his  faults,  and  ready  to  trumpet  them  forth  to  the  world  ;  but  he  was  a 
man  of  many  virtues,  and  rejoiced  in  a  mighty  army  of  friends,  who  knew  how  to 
appreciate  his  worth  while  living,  and  to  do  justice  to  his  memory  now  that  he  is 
no  longer  in  our  midst. 

"  Such  was  the  individual,"  writes  the  venerable  President  Nott,  "  who,  during  a 
life  so  short,  so  changeful,  and  yet,  withal,  so  fortunate,  was  able  not  only  to  fix 
some  impress  of  his  mind  on  most  of  the  institutions  under  which  we  live,  but  also 
to  grave  the  memorial  of  his  being  on  the  bosom  of  the  earth  on  which  we  tread, 
and  in  lines,  too,  so  bold  and  so  indelible  that  they  may,  and  probably  will,  continue 
legible  to  successive  generations." 

On  the  llth  of  February,  1828,  while  conversing  with  his  family  in  his  study?  he 
expired  instantly,  of  a  disease  of  the  heart. 


JOHN    CHAKLES    FREMONT. 


MONGST  the  explorers  of  the  new  world,  COLONEL  FREMONT  has  no  superior. 
For  all  those  traits  essential  to  a  successful  pioneer,  —  courage,  genius,  forti- 
ide,  perseverance,  and  indomitabJe  heroism,  —  we  may  look  far  before  we  find  his 
equal.  Born,  bred,  and  educated  in  South  Carolina,  we  find  him,  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen, teaching  mathematics,  that  he  might  support  his  widowed  mother  and  her  young- 
er children.  Shortly  after,  at  the  recommendation  of  Mr.  Poinsett,  then  secretary  of 
the  navy,  he  was  joined  to  the  expedition  under  direction  of  Nicollet,  with  whom  he 
explored  the  way  to  the  summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

On  his  return  to  Washington,  he  offered  his  services  to  the  government,  proposing 
to  penetrate  the  Rocky  Mountains  by  a  new  route.  His  offer  was  accepted,  and  his 
plan  approved  ;  and  in  1842,  with  a  mere  handful  of  men,  he  explored  the  South 
Pass,  one  of  the  great  highways  to  California  and  Oregon,  examining  with  great 
skill  its  astronomical,  geological,  geographical,  botanical,  and  hygeian  manifestations. 
His  published  report  of  this  expedition  was  read  with  vivid  interest  the  world  over, 
and  established  the  character  of  Fremont  as  a  man  of  thorough  scientific  research 
and  bold  adventure. 

But  Colonel  Fremont  was  far  from  being  satisfied.  A  vast  tract  of  wilderness, 
over  which  no  white  man's  foot  had  ever  roamed,  lay  between  his  recent  tracks  and 


150  JOHN  CHARLES  FREMONT 

the  explorations  of  Colonel  Wilkes,  about  the  tide  waters  of  the  Columbia.  So,  the 
following  year,  he  set  himself  to  the  exploration  of  this  vast  tract.  "  He  approached 
the  mountains  by  a  new  line,  scaled  their  summits  south  of  the  South  Pass,  deflect- 
ed to  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  and  pushed  examinations  right  and  left  along  his  entire 
course.  He  joined  his  survey  to  that  of  Colonel  Wilkes,  and  his  orders  were 
fulfilled.  He  had  opened  one  route  to  the  -Columbia,  and  he  wished  to  find  an- 
other." Turning  his  face  once  more  to  the  vast  chain  of  mountains  with  whose 
grand  features  he  was  now  becoming  familiar,  with  stinted  supplies,  and  a  deficient 
number  of  men  and  mules,  he  began,  at  the  very  opening  of  winter,  "that  wonderful 
expedition,  filled  with  romance,  achievement,  daring,  and  suffering,  in  which  he  was 
lost  from  the  world  nine  months,  traversing  three  thousand  five  hundred  miles,  in 
sight  of  eternal  snows,  in  which  he  explored  and  revealed  the  grand  features  of  Alta 
California,  its  great  basin,  the  Sierra  Nevada,  the  valleys  of  San  Joaquin  and  Sacra- 
mento, explored  the  fabulous  Buenaventura,  revealed  the  real  El  Dorado,  and  estab- 
lished the  geography  of  the  western  part  of  our  continent." 

In  1844  he  was  again  at  the  capital,  planning  another  expedition,  even  while  he 
was  preparing  the  report  of  the  last ;  and  the  following  year  he  again  set  out  for  the 
Pacific,  by  a  new  route.  This  expedition  involved  him  in  the  war  with  Mexico,  and 
owing  to  misunderstanding  of  the  orders  of  his  superiors,  he  was  arrested  for  disobe- 
dience and  contumely,  and  sent  back  to  Washington,  tried  by  a  court  martial,  and 
stripped  of  his  commission.  The  president  offered  to  reinstate  him.  "  I  ask  jus- 
tice, not  mercy,"  was  his  characteristic  reply,  and  he  spurned  a  sword  he  could  not 
wear  but  with  dishonor. 

It  needed  but  one  more  line  to  complete  the  surveys  he  had  so  successfully 
carried  on ;  and  although  stripped  of  the  patronage  of  government,  he  determined  to 
finish  his  work.  Mustering  his  band  of  hardy  mountaineers,  who  gloried  in  him  as 
their  leader,  he  commenced  his  march  once  more,  through  a  more  than  Siberian 
country.  The  terrors  of  that  campaign  can  scarcely  be  imagined.  He  lost  all  his 
men,  horses,  mules,  provisions,  and  with  barely  the  breath  of  life  in  him,  he  succeed- 
ed in  reaching  a  settlement,  where  he  recruited  his  exhausted  energies,  enlisted  new 
men,  procured  a  supply  of  mules  and  provisions,,  and,  nothing  disheartened,  started 
forward  once  more  on  his  glorious  but  perilous  march  ;  penetrated  the  country  of  the 
fierce  and  remorseless  Apaches ;  met,  awed,  or  defeated  savage  tribes ;  and  in  a  hun- 
dred days  from  Santa  Fe,  he  stood  on  the  glittering  banks  of  the  Sacramento. 

Here  he  was  among  his  friends  once  more,  and  they  speedily  reversed  the  decision 
of  the  court  martial,  and  made  him  "  the  first  senator  from  the  Golden  State."  It 
was  a  tribute  due  to  his  heroism  and  success. 

The  name  of  Fremont  "  is  identified  forever  with  some  of  the  proudest  and  most 
grateful  passages  in  American  history.  His  twenty  thousand  miles  of  wilderness 
explorations,  in  the  midst  of  the  inclemencies  of  nature,  and  the  ferocities  of  jealous 
and  merciless  tribes  :  his  powers  of  endurance  in  a  slender  form ;  his  intrepid  coolness 
in  the  most  appalling  dangers  ;  his  magnetic  sway  over  enlightened  and  savage 
men  ;  his  vast  contributions  to  science  ;  his  controlling  energy  in  the  extension  of 
our  empire  ;  his  lofty  and  unsullied  ambition ;  his  magnanimity,  humanity,  genius, 
sufferings,  and  heroism  ;  make  all  lovers  of  progress,  learning,  and  virtue  rejoice  that 
Fremont's  services  have  been  rewarded  by  high  civic  honors,  exhaustless  wealth,  and 
the  admiration  and  gratitude  of  mankind." 


ROBERT    BAIRD,  D.  D. 

EEV.  ROBERT  BAIRD,  one  of  thirteen  children  of  a  sturdy  farmer  of  that 
'  name,  was  born  near  Brownsville,  Fayette  county,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  6th 
of  October,  1798.  His  childhood  passed,  like  that  of  all  farmers'  boys,  in  tending 
cattle,  raking  hay,  chopping  wood,  "  riding  the  horse  to  plough,"  doing  the  chores 
generally,  and  going  to  school  a  few  weeks  in  winter.  At  fifteen  he  was  sent  to  a 
Latin  school  at  Uniontown,  whence,  after  the  usual  amount  of  homesickness  and 
study,  he  went,  in  the  summer  of  1816,  to  Washington  College,  whose  Sophomore 
class  he  joined  during  its  last  term,  and  graduated  with  a  fair  reputation  as  a 
scholar.  While  in  college  he  took  charge  of  a  class  of  colored  children  in  a  Sunday 
school,  where  the  teacher  was  first  truly  taught  the  rudiments  of  Christianity,  and 
which  resulted  in  his  joining  the  church  in  the  latter  part  of  his  junior  year. 

In  1819,  he  entered  the  Theological  School  at  Princeton,  having  supported  him- 
self after  he  left  college  by  teaching.  On  leaving  the  school  he  once  more  resorted 
to  his  favorite  occupation  of  teaching,  and  took  charge  of  an  academy  in  Princeton, 
which  situation  he  held  for  nearly  six  years,  when  he  overcame  his  great  diffidence, 
which  had  hitherto  prevented  his  preaching,  and  commenced  in  earnest  his  profes- 
sional career  —  a  career  as  honorable  to  himself  as  it  has  been  useful  to  mankind. 


153  ROBERT    BAIRD,   D.  D. 


In  1827,  Mr.  Baird  became  an  agent  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  and  after  a 
successful  commencement  of  his  mission  in  the  United  States,  he  was  appointed  as 
their  agent  to  Caraccas,  in  South  America,  but  never  sailed  on  his  mission ;  and  the 
following  year  accepted  the  appointment  of  General  Agent  of  the  New  Jersey  Mis- 
sionary Society.  In  the  spring  of  1829,  he  was  chosen  the  General  Agent  of  the 
American  Sabbath  School  Union,  and  became  a  resident  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 
In  the  fulfilment  of  his  duties,  he  travelled  all  over  the  country,  from  Maine  to  Ore- 
gon, and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Dr.  Baird  had  long  felt  a  deep  interest  in  the  religious  condition  of  France,  and  at 
his  suggestion,   a  society  had  been  formed,  in  1834,  called  the  "  French   Associa- 
tion."    As  the   agent  of  this  society  he  sailed  for  Havre,  and  remained  in  Europe 
three  years.     "  The  winter  months  he  spent  in   Paris,  promoting  the  objects  of  the 
association ;  writing  and  conducting  an  English  service  on  the  Sabbath,     The  first 
summer  was  spent  in  Switzerland,  and  during  the  first  year  a  '  History  of  Temper- 
ance  Societies'  was  written,   which  has  been   published  in   the  French,  Swedish,* 
Dutch,  German,  Grecian,  Danish,  Finnish,  and   Russian  languages,  and  scattered! 
broadcast  over  Europe. 

"  In  the  first  tour  made  by  Dr.  B.  in  behalf  of  the  temperance  cause,  he  visited 
London,  Hamburg,  Copenhagen,  Stockholm,  Leipsic  Berlin,  Sweden,  Frankfort  j 
on  the  Maine,  Amsterdam,  Rotterdam,  and  Brussels.  In  the  winter  of  1837-38,  he^ 
made  his  northern  tour  through  Europe,  visiting  Moscow,  St.  Petersburg,  Berlin,; 
Poland,  Austria,  and  Germany.  In  the  spring,  he  returned  to  America,  the  objects: 
of  the  '  Association  '  having  been  accomplished.  In  the  mean  time,  the  '  Foreign/ 
Evangelical  Society'  had  been  formed,  and  in  August,  1839,  Dr.  Baird  returned  to< 
Europe  as  its  agent.  In  the  winter  of  1839—40,  he  was  severely  sick,  and  endured  at 
long  confinement.  The  summer  of  1840  was  spent  in  another  tour  to  the  north  of: 
Europe.  At  this  time,  he  lectured  throughout  Sweden,  speaking  two  or  three  times* 
each  day  in  behalf  of  temperance." 

In  1841  and  1842,  he  travelled  extensively  in  this  country,  trying  to  rouse  up  the 
people  on  the  subject  of  evangelizing  Europe,  during  which  he  wrote  and  published- 
his  book  on  "  Religion  in  America,"  which  has  been  published  in  the  English, 
French,  German,  Dutch,  Swedish,  Italian,  Danish,  Modern  Greek,  and  Armenian 
languages. 

In  1846,  Dr.  Baird  attended  the  World's  Temperance  Convention  at  Stockholm 
as  also  the  "Evangelical  Alliance,"  which  met  at  London.  Thus  he  has  crossec 
the  ocean  ten  times,  and  spent  eight  years  abroad  in  the  service  of  the  "  Foreign 
Evangelical  Society,"  and  other  religious  institutions,  travelling  through  almost  thf 
entire  extent  of  Europe,  besides  visiting  nearly  every  large  town  and  humble  hamle 
of  our  own  country. 

For  five  years  Dr.  Baird  has  labored  among  his  own  people,  writing,  lecturing,  anc 
editing  the  quarterly  paper  which  is  the  organ  of  the  society.  He  is  a  man  of  man 
ners  most  bland,  and  address  most  winning,  and  seems  to  have  been  provided  by 
Providence  for  the  special  work  to  which  the  race  have  called  him,  and  to  which  he 
has  devoted  the  ripest  years  of  his  life,  and  the  freshest  vigor  of  his  expansive  andi 
all-embracing  benevolence. 


GENERAL    FRANKLIN    PIERCE. 

T7RANKLIN  PIERCE  was  bom  in  Hillsboro',  in  the  State  of  New  Hampshire. 
J  on  the  23d  of  November,  1804.  His  childhood  passed  under  the  shades  of  the 
old  trees  of  his  rural  mountain  home,  where  he  is  represented  as  a  fair,  bright,  blue- 
eyed,  curly-headed  urchin,  whom  the  neighborhood  petted,  and  all  his  teachers  loved. 
Having  passed  a  preparatory  course  at  a  neighboring  academy,  young  Pierce  en- 
tered Bowdoin  College  at  the  early  age  of  sixteen,  in  the  year  1820.  Having 
chosen  the  law  as  a  profession,  he  became  a  student  in  the  office  of  Judge  Wood- 
bury,  of  Portsmouth.  The  last  two  years  of  Mr.  Pierce's  preparatory  studies  were 
spent  at  the  law  school  of  Northampton,  in  Massachusetts,  and  in  the  office  of 
Judge  Parker,  at  Amherst.  In  1827,  being  admitted  to  the  bar,  he  began  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  at  Hillsboro'.  Success  did  not  at  first  wait  on  his  efforts,  but 
in  a  little  while  he  rose,  and  by  degrees  has  attained  the  highest  rank  as  a  lawyer 
and  advocate.  He  also  entered  early  in  life  into  politics,  and  in  the  year  1829,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-five  years,  he  was  elected  to  his  first  political  public  honor,  as  rep- 
resentative from  his  native  town  to  the  legislature  of  the  state.  He  served  in  that 
body  four  years,  in  the  two  latter  of  which  he  was  elected  speaker  by  a  vote  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty-five,  against  fifty-eight  for  other  candidates.  This  office  he  filled 
to  universal  satisfaction,  for  "  he  was  blessed,"  says  his  biographer,  Hawthorne, 


154  GENERAL    FRANKLIN    PIERCE. 

"  with  all  the  natural  gifts  that  adapted  him  for  the  post ;  courtesy,  firmness,  quick- 
ness  and  accuracy  of  judgment,  and  a  clearness  of  mental  perception  that  brought 
its  own  regularity  into  the  scene  of  confused  and  entangled  debate ;  and  to  these 
qualities  he  added  whatever  was  to  be  attained  by  laborious  study  of  parliamentary 
rules." 

In  1833,  Pierce  was  elected  to  Congress,  and  in  1837,  he  was  chosen  a  member 
of  the  United  States  Senate,  he  having  barely  attained  the  age  necessary  to  a  seat 
in  that  body.  Soon  after  his  election  to  the  lower  branch  of  the  United  States  Legis- 
lature,  in  1834,  he  married  Miss  Jane  Means,  the  daughter  of  Rev.  Dr.  Appleton,  a 
former  president  of  Bowdoin  College,  and  on  his  election  to  the  Senate  he  removed 
from  Hillsboro'  to  Concord,  the  capital  of  the  state.  He  served  through  one  period 
of  four  years,  and  was  reflected  in  1841.  The  following  year  he  resigned  his  seat, 
and  returned  to  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  the  bar.  Of  his  political  career 
while  a  member  of  this  august  body,  it  is  not  our  intention  to  speak.  As  a  public 
debater  he  took  a  high  stand,  and  showed  himself  diligent  and  capable  in  the  busi- 
ness  of  legislation,  while  his  gentlemanly  deportment  won  for  him  the  respect  of 
political  opponents,  as  well  as  friends. 

He  now  devoted  himself  to  the  practice  of  the  law,  and  soon  gave  evidence  of 
the  high  stand  he  was  destined  to  occupy  at  the  bar.  A  contemporary  gives  us  the 
clew  to  his  success.  "  His  vigilance  and  perseverance,  omitting  nothing  in  the  prep- 
aration and  introduction  of  testimony,  even  to  the  minutest  details,  which  can  be 
useful  to  his  clients ;  his  watchful  attention,  seizing  on  every  weak  point  in  the  oppo- 
site case;  his  quickness  and  readiness;  his  sound  and  excellent  judgment ;  his  keen 
insight  into  character  and  motives ;  his  almost  intuitive  knowledge  of  men  ;  his  in- 
genious  and  powerful  cross  examinations  ;  his  adroitness  in  turning  aside  trouble- 
some testimony,  and  availing  himself  of  every  favorable  point ;  his  quick  sense  of 
the  ridiculous ;  his  pathetic  appeals  to  the  feelings  ;  his  sustained  eloquence,  and  re- 
markably  energetic  declamation,  —  all  mark  him  for  a  <  leader.'  " 

In  1846,  President  Polk  offered  him  the  office  of  Attorney  General,  an  honor 
which  he,  however,  declined.  On  the  breaking  out  of  the  Mexican  war,  Mr.  Pierc 
was  commissioned  as  brigadier  general,  and  took  his  departure  for  the  seat  of  war 
on  the  27th  of  May,  1847,  where,  after  seeing  a  good  deal  of  hard  service,  and  mak- 
ing  one  of  a  band  of  heroes  in  several  hard  battles  where  victory  always  rested  on 
the  American  arms,  he  returned  to  his  home,  where  he  was  received  with  much  dis- 
tinction  and  many  honors.  At  the  present  time  of  writing,  he  is  the  regularly-nomi- 
nated candidate  of  the  democratic  party  for  President  of  the  United  States. 

As  a  member  of  society,  Franklin  Pierce  is  a  universal  favorite,  and  by  his  good- 
natured  and  unaffected  urbanity  ingratiates  every  one  whose  good  fortune  it  is  to 
make  his  acquaintance.  As  a  public  speaker  he  is  remarkably  successful.  A  polit- 
ical opponent  thus  speaks  of  him  :  "  He  is  not  only  remarkably  fluent  in  his  elocu- 
tion, but  remarkably  correct.  He  seldom  miscalls  or  repeats  a  word.  His  style  is 
not  overloaded  with  ornament,  and  yet  he  draws  liberally  upon  the  treasury  of 
rhetoric.  His  figures  are  often  beautiful  and  striking,  never  incongruous.  He  is  al- 
ways listened  to  with  respectful  attention,  if  he  does  not  always  command  con- 
viction." 

P.  S.  —  Since  writing  the  above,  General  Pierce  has  been  elected,  by  an  almost 
unprecedented  majority,  to  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States. 


TEGUMSEH. 


aboriginal  race  of  our  country  has  afforded  some  of  the  finest  specimens  of 
mental  activity  that  can  be  found  in  man's  history.  Brutal  and  degraded  as 
the  mass  may  be,  from  want  of  a  generally  diffused  education,  like  all  other  races, 
our  Indians  have  their  great  men — great,  not  only  in  comparison  with  their  own, 
but  in  comparison  with  all  the  great  men  of  earth.  Civilization  has  produced  few 
minds  that  exceed  the  mind  of  the  "  great  leader  of  the  Shawanees "  in  native 
strength,  shrewdness,  and  dignity,  and  no  one  better  deserves  a  place  in  the  history 
of  our  great  men. 

TECUMSEH,  a  brigadier  general  in  the  British  army,  was  born  near  the  year  1770. 
From  childhood,  he  was  distinguished  for  his  bravery  and  intrigue.  With  real  sav- 
age abhorrence  of  the  whites,  whom  he  hated  as  the  invaders  of  the  ashes  of  his 
sires,  and  the  peace  of  his  wigwam  and  hunting  grounds,  he  spared  no  white  man 
who  came  within  the  reach  of  his  rifle  or  tomahawk.  For  years  he  cherished,  and 
at  length  matured,  a  plan  for  the  utter  expulsion  of  the  whites  from  the  territory  of 
|  his  own  and  the  neighboring  tribes.  In  his  negotiations  with  the  chiefs  of  the  vari- 
ous tribes  from  the  northern  extremes  of  the  lakes  to  the  confluence  of  the  Missis- 
sippi with  the  gulf,  he  exhibited  a  sagacity  and  shrewdness,  a  knowledge  of  human 

11 


156  TECUMSEH. 

nature,  and  a  tireless  perseverance,  worthy  the  great  diplomatists  of  the  world ;  and 
his  success  was  equal  to  his  efforts. 

He  appears  to  no  less  advantage  as  a  negotiator  with  the  whites.  Governor  Har- 
rison was  often  put  to  fault  with  the  shrewdness  of  his  reasoning,  and  could  never 
succeed  in  bringing  the  sturdy  warrior  to  terms,  save  at  the  muzzle  of  his  cannon. 
At  the  close  of  a  fruitless  negotiation  at  the  head-quarters  of  Harrison,  he  was  told 
that  the  matter  in  hand  would  be  referred  to  the  President.  "  Well,"  was  his  char- 
acteristic reply,  "  as  the  great  chief  is  to  determine  this  matter,  I  hope  the  Great 
Spirit  will  put  sense  enough  into  his  head  to  comply  with  the  demands  of  my  tribe." 
He  said  that  it  would  be  with  great  reluctance  that  he  should  make  war  on  the 
whites,  but,  such  was  his  sense  of  the  wrongs  done  to  his  brethren,  that  unless  his 
demands  were  complied  with,  he  would  fight  it  out,  and  he  "  woukl  give  no  rest  to 
his  feet  until  he  had  milled  all  the  red  men  in  a  like  determination" 

In  a  civilized  man,  expostulating  with  the  oppressor,  who  had  no  other  claim  than 
the  power  of  might  to  his  lands,  and  who  threatened  to  drive  him  and  his  brethren, 
with  their  wives  and  their  little  ones,  from  the  familiar  and  pleasant  lands  where 
their  ancestors,  time  out  of  mind,  had  lived  and  died,  and  which  was  endeared  by 
every  traditionary  event  and  domestic  scene  for  a  thousand  years, —  in  a  Christian- 
ised hero,  this  would  be  considered  the  height  of  the  morally  sublime,  an  outburst 
of  patriotism  worthy  all  praise.  How  can  it  be  any  less  so  in  the  savage  chief? 
Nay,  how  is  the  dignity  and  patriotism  of  his  revenge  enhanced  from  the  very  fact 
of  his  barbarism ! 

On  another  occasion,  when  Tecumseh  had  closed  his  speech,  and  was  about  to  be 
seated,  he  discovered  that  no  chair  had  been  provided  for  him.  The  defect  was 
soon  supplied,  and  the  officer  who  presented  the  chair  observed,  "  General,  your 
father  requests  you  to  take  a  chair."  "  My  father  !  "  exclaimed  the  indignant  chief, 
assuming  his  most  majestic  attitude,  "  the  sun  is  my  father,  and  the  earth  is  my 
mother  —  I  will  repose  upon  her  bosom;"  and  immediately  threw  himself,  with  inimi- 
table grace,  upon  the  ground,  after  the  fashion  of  the  Indians. 

At  length,  the  negotiations  terminated,  and  appeal  was  had  to  arms.  The  battle 
of  Tippecanoe  followed,  and  then  succeeded  those  sanguinary  fights  which  ended 
in  the  battle  of  the  Thames,  where,  after  fighting  like  a  lion  at  bay,  with  a  fury 
which  he  alone  could  assume,  against  the  most  fearful  odds,  and  heaping  a  barrier 
of  human  bodies  all  around  him,  a  shot  through  the  head  laid  him  low  with  his 
foes  who  had  fallen  by  his  hand.  Thus  was  terminated,  in  the  forty-fourth  year  of 
his  age,  the  life  of  as  brave  a  warrior  as  ever  fought  for  his  fatherland. 


WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON. 


VWTILLIAM  HENRY  HARRISON  was  born  in  Charles  City  county,  Vir- 
f  T  ginia,  on  the  9th  of  February,  1773.  He  was  educated  at  Hamden  Sydney 
College,  and  immediately  prepared  himself  for  the  practice  of  medicine.  At  this 
time,  the  hostilities  of  the  Indians,  on  our  north-western  frontier,  exeited  ihc  attention 
of  our  young  physician,  and,  having  received  from  President  Washington  an  ensign's 
commission,  he  joined  the  north-western  army  at  the  early  age  of  nineteen.  In 
1792,  he  was  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy,  and  was  in  several  actions  under  Wayne, 
who  spoke  in  the  highest  terms  of  his  bravery  and  skill.  For  his  courage  and  cool- 
ness at  the  bloody  battle  of  Miami  Rapids,  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  captain, 
and  immediately  placed  in  command  of  Fort  Washington.  In  1797,  resigning  his 
commission  in  the  army,  he  was  appointed  secretary  of  the  North-west  Territory. 
At  the  age  of  twenty-six,  in  1799,  he  was  elected  a  delegate  to  Congress  from  this 
territory,  where  he  rendered  very  valuable  service  to  his  constituents,  and  did  him- 
self great  credit. 

On  the  erection  of  Indiana  into  a  territorial  government,  he  was  appointed  its 
first  governor,  and  he  held  this  office,  by  reappointment,  till  1813.  In  addition  1o 
the  duties  in  the  civil  and  military  government  of  the  territory,  he  was  commissioner 


158  WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON. 

and  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  ;  and,  in  the  course  of  his  administration,  he 
concluded  thirteen  important  treaties  with  the  different  tribes.  On  the  7th  of  No- 
vember, 1811,  he  gained  over  the  Indians  the  celebrated  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  the 
news  of  which  was  received  throughout  the  country  with  a  burst  of  enthusiasm. 
During  the  last  war  with  Great  Britian,  he  was  made  commander  of  the  north-west- 
ern army  of  the  United  States,  and  he  bore  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  leading  events 
in  the  campaign  of  1812-13,  the  defence  of  Fort  Meigs,  and  the  victory  of  the 
Thames.  In  1814,  he  was  appointed,  in  conjunction  with  his  companions  in  arms, 
Governor  Shelby  and  General  Cass,  to  treat  with  the  Indians  in  the  north-west,  at 
Greenville ;  and,  in  the  following  year,  he  was  placed  at  the  head  of  a  commission 
to  treat  with  various  other  important  tribes. 

"  In  1816,  General  Harrison  was  elected  a  member  of  Congress  from  Ohio ;  and, 
in  1828,  he  was  sent  minister  plenipotentiary  to  the  republic  of  Colombia.  On  his 
return,  he  took  up  his  residence  at  North  Bend,  on  the  Ohio,  sixteen  miles  below 
Cincinnati,  where  he  lived  upon  his  farm,  in  comparative  retirement,  till  he  was 
called  by  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  preside  over  the  country  as  its  chief 
magistrate." 

Perhaps  no  man,  since  Washington,  has  received  such  an  enthusiastic  and  spon- 
taneous welcome  throughout  the  Union  as  the  "  Hero  of  Tippecanoe,"  and  certainly 
no  president  has  gone  into  office  with  so  little  opposition.  The  whig  party,  who 
nominated  him  to  the  office  of  president,  expected  much  from  his  administration  of 
the  government,  and  the  day  of  his  inauguration  was  a  jubilee.  Alas !  how  short- 
sighted is  man  !  All  the  fond  hopes  of  that  proud  hour  were  scattered  speedily,  like 
frost-bitten  leaves  before  the  autumnal  blast.  In  one  short  month,  the  country 
resounded  to  deep  and  heartfelt  lamentations,  and  all  sections  of  the  land  bore 
signs  of  grief.  The  "  Hero  of  Tippecanoe,"  the  idol  of  the  millions,  —  he  in  whom 
his  party  had  trusted  as  the  savior  of  their  principles,  —  yielded  the  seals  of  his  office 
to  the  Conqueror  of  all  conquerors,  and  departed  for  a  wider  sphere  of  action,  and  a 
nobler  field  of  enterprise. 

President  Harrison  died  at  Washington  city,  on  the  4th  of  April,  1841,  in  the 
sixty-ninth  year  of  his  age, 

His  obsequies  were  of  the  most  imposing  character,  and  were  performed  by  sin- 
cere mourners  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land. 

President  Harrison  was  an  honest  man,  a  brave  general,  a  shrewd  and  calm  di- 
plomatist, a  kind  neighbor  and  friend,  and  a  firm  and  consistent  lover  of  his  coun- 
try. In  the  language  of  the  official  notice  of  his  death  by  the  members  of  his 
cabinet,  "  his  death  was  calm  and  resigned,  as  his  life  had  been  patriotic,  useful, 
and  distinguished;  and  the  last  utterance  of  his  lips  expressed  a  fervent  desire 
for  the  perpetuity  of  the  constitution,  and  the  preservation  of  its  true  principles.  In 
death,  as  in  life,  the  happiness  of  his  country  was  uppermost  in  his  thoughts." 


JAMES   A.   BAYARD. 


rp>HIS  distinguished  statesman  was  born  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  on  the  28th 
JL  of  July,  1767.  Very  early  in  life,  he  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  his  parents, 
and  was  adopted  by  an  uncle,  who  seems  to  have  acted  the  part  of  a  kind  and 
faithful  guardian.  He  fitted  the  child  for  college,  and,  after  passing  the  usual  time, 
he  was  graduated  from  Princeton  College  with  the  highest  honors.  He  pursued  the 
study  of  the  law,  and,  on  being  admitted  to  the  bar,  removed  to  Wilmington,  in  the 
state  of  Delaware,  and  opened  his  office.  No  sooner  had  he  reached  the  constitu- 
tional age,  than  he  was  elected  to  Congress,  and  took  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives in  May,  1797.  He  took  sides  with  the  administration,  and  from  this 
time  to  his  death  was  a  firm,  consistent,  and  devoted  adherent  to  the  principles  of 
the  old  federal  party.  He  held  his  seat  in  the  lower  house  of  Congress  until  1804, 
when  the  legislature  of  Maryland  elected  him  to  the  United  States  Senate. 

In  1801,  just  at  the  close  of  Mr.  Adams's  administration,  Mr.  Bayard  was  ap- 
pointed minister  to  France,  but  declined  it,  on  the  ground  that  he  had  taken  such  a 
conspicuous  part  in  the  recent  election,  and  had  been  the  chief  instrument  in 
securing  the  elevation  of  Mr.  Jefferson.  His  letter  to  Mr.  Adams,  declining  the 
appointment,  exhibits  his  patriotism  and  uprightness  in  a  most  favorable  view. 


160  JAMES    A.    BAYARD. 

While  a  member  of  the  United  States  Senate,  he  was  the  same  efficient  and 
unbending  friend  of  his  country,  and  won  for  himself  the  sobriquet  of  "  the  high 
priest  of  the  constitution,"  and  "the  Goliah  of  his  party."  Reflected  in  1811,  he 
was  engaged  in  all  the  fierce  struggles  that  preceded  and  accompanied  the  declara- 
tion of  war.  He  opposed  the  declaration  as  hasty  and  unadvised  ;  but,  when  Con- 
gress had  made  it  an  act,  he  gave  his  whole  strength  and  talents  to  the  support  of 
all  measures  necessary  to  sustain  it  with  dignity  and  glory  to  the  country.  He  even 
assisted  with  his  own  hand  in  the  works  of  defence  erected  by  the  citizens  of  Wil- 
mington, where  he  resided. 

Hearing  of  the  war,  the  Russian  czar  offered  to  mediate  between  England  and 
our  own  country.  The  offer  was  accepted  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  and 
the  president  immediately  issued  commissions  to  Messrs.  Bayard  and  Gallatin  to 
proceed  at  once  to  St.  Petersburg  to  negotiate  with  the  emperor.  After  spending 
six  months  in  Russia,  and  hearing  nothing  from  England,  they  took  their  departure 
from  St.  Petersburg,  over  land,  and  reached  Amsterdam,  by  way  of  Berlin,  on  the 
4th  of  March,  1814.  Here  they  learned  that  England  declined  the  mediatory  offices 
of  Russia,  and  that  Adams,  Clay,  and  Russell  had  been  joined  to  their  commission, 
a.s  ministers  plenipotentiary  to  treat  with  England.  After  much  delay,  England 
consented  to  treat,  and  met  our  commissioners  at  Ghent,  where  a  treaty  of  peace 
was  eventually  concluded  and  signed  on  the  24th  of  December,  1814. 

In  the  conferences  and  discussions  of  this  notable  commission  Mr.  Bayard  took 
no  inconsiderable  part,  and  fully  realized  the  high  expectations  which  his  previous 
course  had  excited;  and  his  shining  qualities  of  mind  marked  him  at  once  as  a 
diplomatist  and  negotiator  of  the  highest  order. 

On  the  7th  of  January,  1815,  Mr.  Bayard  left  Ghent  for  Paris,  whither  he  arrived 
in  a  few  days.  Here,  on  the  4th  of  March,  he  was  seized  with  a  fatal  but  lingering 
and  distressing  disease.  He  hastened  to  London,  where  he  was  to  meet  the  com- 
missioners once  more,  to  negotiate  a  treaty  of  commerce,  but  his  ill  health  did  not 
permit  him  to  take  any  part  in  their  deliberations. 

While  here,  he  received  intelligence  of  his  appointment  as  minister  to  Russia, 
and  the  ratification  of  the  same  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  But  feeling 
that  the  hand  of  death  was  upon  him,  and  desirous  of  closing  his  eyes  on  earth 
amidst  the  beloved  scenes  of  home,  he  peremptorily  declined  the  appointment. 
After  many  vexatious  delays,  the  ship,  which  was  to  bear  him  to  his  native  shores, 
at  length  set  sail,  and  arrived  in  the  Delaware  on  the  1st  of  August.  He  reached 
his  home  only  to  receive  the  greetings  of  his  beloved  wife  and  children,  and  witness 
their  heart-breaking  lamentations  that  his  tarry  with  them  must  be  so  brief.  His 
death  occurred  on  the  6th  of  August,  1815. 


COMMODORE   ALEXANDER    CLAXTOiN,    U.  8.  N. 

ALEXANDER  CLAXTON,  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  was  bom  in  the  city 
of  Philadelphia,  A.  D.  1792,  his  father  being  at  the  time  a  member  of  the 
United  States  Senate.  The  family  removed,  with  the  Executive  and  Congress,  to 
Washington,  when  that  city  became  the  seat  of  government.  In  1806,  young 
Claxton  received  an  appointment  as  midshipman  in  the  navy,  and  was  forthwith 
ordered  to  the  frigate  Chesapeake,  and  was  in  that  vessel  when  she  was  overhauled 
by  the  Leopard.  The  only  gun  fired  from  the  Chesapeake  in  the  encounter  was 
the  one  at  which  young  Claxton  was  stationed. 

On  the  declaration  of  war  in  1812,  Mr.  Claxton  was  ordered  to  the  sloop  of  war 
Wasp,  Captain  (afterwards  Commodore)  Jacob  Jones,  and  was  in  the  action  which 
resulted  in  the  capture  of  H.  B.  M.  sloop  of  war  Frolic,  Captain  Wingates.  The 
gallantry  of  the  young  lieutenant  was  particularly  commended  by  Captain  Jones,  in 
his  official  report  of  the  action. 

The  Wasp  and  her  prize  were  captured  by  the  British  seventy-four  Poictiers,  ant) 
carried  into  Bermuda.  After  the  exchange  of  prisoners,  which  was  soon  effected, 
Captain  Jones  and  his  officers  were  ordered  to  the  frigate  Macedonian,  but  being 


162  COMMODORE    ALEXANDER    CLAXTON,    U.  S.  N. 

biockaoed  in  New  London,  the  entire  crew  and  officers  were  transferred  to  Perry's 
squadron  on  Lake  Erie. 

We  next  hear  of  Lieutenant  Claxton  as  second  in  command  under  Commodore 
Porter,  at  the  "  battle  of  the  White  House,"  ten  miles  below  Washington,  where  an 
ineffectual  effort  was  made  to  stop  the  return  of  the  English  squadron  down  the 
Potomac,  after  the  burning  of  the  city  of  Washington. 

For  his  gallantry  in  the  action  of  the  Wasp  and  Frolic  Lieutenant  Claxton  was 
voted  the  thanks  of  Congress,  the  privilege  of  the  floor  of  both  houses,  and  a  silver 
medal.  In  1816,  he  was  ordered  to  the  command  of  the  schooner  Nonsuch.  From 
(hat  time  till  1839,  he  served  in  command  of  various  vessels  in  different  parts  of  the 
world,  always  with  credit  to  himself,  benefit  to  our  commerce,  and  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  the  department.  On  the  12th  of  March,  1839,  he  hoisted  his  broad 
pennant  on  board  the  frigate  Constitution,  the  flagship  of  the  squadron  then 
ordered  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  He  remained  in  command  of  that  squadron  until  his 
death  at  Talchuana,  which  occurred  on  the  8th  of  March,  1841,  at  the  early  age  of 
forty-nine  years. 

In  private  life,  Commodore  Claxton  was  most  esteemed ;  his  frank  and  open 
manner  was  a  passport  to  all  hearts,  whilst  his  many  virtues  endeared  him  to  a 
host  of  warm  and  devoted  friends.  With  those  who  have  served  under  him,  his 
memory  is  cherished  for  the  paternal  care  which  watched  over  their  health  and 
comfort ;  and  the  oft-abused  and  neglected  sailor  holds  in  grateful  and  treasured 
remembrance  the  many  sacrifices  of  personal  comfort  which  he  made  that  they 
should  not  suffer  the  consequences  of  their  own  imprudence,  or  become  the  victims 
of  oppression  or  fraud. 

A  fitting  tribute  to  the  memory  of  this  gallant  officer  is  embodied  in  a  work  enti- 
tled "  Old  Ironsides,"  the  author  of  which  sailed  under  him.  We  regret  that  our 
limits  will  not  allow  us  to  make  any  extracts. 


WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT. 


ONE  of  the  sweetest  stars  that  ever  culminated  in  the  firmament  of  song  —  one 
that  has  shed  a  holier  and  more  hallowing  light  on  the  darkened  soul  of  hu- 
manity than  almost  any  other  of  the  muses'  bright  constellation,  is  the  author  of 
"  Thanatopsis."  He  has  touched  the  chords  of  the  human  heart,  and  they  have  vi- 
brated to  the  innermost  of  man's  being,  stirring  up  a  consciousness  of  immortality 
within  him,  to  which  he  was  a  stranger  until  that  deep,  solemn,  and  heavenly  music 
was  drawn  from  the  "  wondrous  harp  "  of  his  existence,  by  the  magic  wand  of  the 
sweet  poet. 

WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT  was  born  at  Cummington,  Connecticut,  on  the  3d  of 
November,  1794.  It  was  the  good  fortune  of  the  child  to  be  blessed  with  a  father 
who  had  the  sagacity  to  detect,  and  the  skill  and  tact  to  encourage  and  train,  the 
manifestations  of  genius  which  exhibited  themselves  in  young  Bryant,  as  soon  as  he 
could  read.  At  five,  he  wrote  verses  that  were  quite  respectable  ;  and  at  ten,  his 
poetry  was  given  to  the  world,  through  the  newspapers  of  his  neighborhood.  At 
thirteen,  he  published  a  political  satire  called  the  "  Embargo,"  which  got  him  some 
applause,  and  soon  passed  into  the  second  edition.  He  was  not  quite  sixteen  when 
he  entered  William's  College  in  advance.  Here  he  made  rapid  proficiency,  and 


WILLIAM    CULLEN    BRYANT. 

after  remaining  less  than  two  years,  he  asked  and  obtained  an  honorable  dismission, 
that  he  might  pursue  the  study  of  the  law.  He  first  entered  the  office  of  Judge 
Howe,  of  Worthington,  and  afterwards  that  of  the  Hon.  William  Baylies,  of  Bridge- 
water.  In  1815,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  opened  an  office  at  Plymouth. 

Mr.  Bryant  read  law  faithfully,  but  amidst  all  the  drudgery  that  falls  to  the  lot  of 
a  law  student,  and  in  despite  the  dusty,  dingy,  narrow,  pent-up  box  of  a  lawyer's  of- 
fice, with  its  pigeon  holes,  and  bundles  tied  with  red  tape,  and  bills,  and  writs,  and 
executions,  and  mortgages,  and  foreclosures,  and  suits,  and  nonsuits,  he  kept  the 
edge  of  fancy  keen  and  bright,  and  looked  out  upon  the  green  pictures  of  his  soul, 
and  played  the  celestial  harp  with  a  touch  as  pure  and  light  as  before.  When  he 
was  nineteen,  he  published  his  "  Thanatopsis,"  "  Entrance  to  a  Wood,"  and  several 
other  pieces,  in  the  "  North  American  Review."  These  publications  brought  the  au- 
thor into  notoriety  at  once,  and  he  was  requested  to  deliver  the  poem  before  the  Phi 
Beta  Kappa  Society  of  Harvard  University. 

Mr.  Bryant  removed  to  Great  Barrington,  Massachusetts,  to  practise  his  profes- 
sion ;  and  in  1821,  he  married  a  young  lady  of  that  place.  After  practising  law  for 
a  number  of  years,  he  determined  to  remove  to  New  York,  and  devote  himself  to 
literature.  In  1825,  he  became  editor  of  the  "  New  York  Review,"  and  about  the 
same  time  was  associated  with  a  number  of  literary  gentlemen  and  artists  in  getting 
up  that  whilom  popular  annual,  the  "  Talisman,"  which  was  adorned,  as  was  also 
the  "  Review  "  of  which  he  was  editor,  with  some  of  the  choicest  effusions  of  his 
pen.  But  the  singing  days  of  this  great  bird  of  song  seem  here  to  have  ended.  He- 
lias  left  the  Empyrean,  and  his  feathers  have  become  bedraggled  in  the  miry  high- 
way of  politics.  His  sweet  voice,  which  of  yore  waked  the  echoes  of  the  still 
evening  and  the  green  hills,  has  grown  hoarse  with  the  harsh  epithets  of  the  polit- 
ical arena ;  for  in  1827  he  became  one  of  the  editors  of  the  "  New  York  Evening 
Post,"  which  place  he  still  occupies,  and  from  which  some  few-and-far-between 
notes  of  the  sweet  olden  time  have  come  to  bless  the  world. 

We  suppose  that  even  poets  cannot  live  by  song  alone,  and  that  the  offspring  of 
poets  are  liable  to  "  all  the  ills  which  flesh  is  heir  to  ; "  but  it  sorely  grieves  us  to 
lose  from  the  world  the  sweet  influences  which  such  a  man  is  capable  of  diffusing 
all  around  him,  and  we  devoutly  hope  that  yet  again  this  bird  of  song  may  plume 
his  wings  to  yet  higher  and  nobler  flights  in  the  heaven  of  harmony,'and  gladden 
the  world  again  with  his  celestial  music. 


BENJAMIN    SILLIMAN,   LL.  D. 

BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN  was  born  in  North  Strafford,  now  Trumbull,  Con- 
necticut, in  the  year  1779.  After  the  regular  course  of  preparation,  he  entered 
Yale  College  very  young,  and  graduated  with  honor  in  1796.  On  leaving  college, 
he  taught  school  for  some  time  in  Wethersfield ;  but  having  fixed  upon  the  law  as 
his  profession,  he  left  his  school,  and  commenced  reading  Blackstone  and  Coke,  and 
after  a  due  course  of  study,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  New  Haven,  in  1802.  In 
1799,  he  had  been  appointed  a  tutor  in  Yale  College,  and  preferring  that  post  to  the 
drudgery  of  the  law,  he  concluded  to  postpone  the  direct  labors  of  his  profession  to 
another  time.  That  time  he  has  not  yet  seen,  and  to  all  human  judgment  never 
will,  as  he  has  become  so  involved  with  the  instruction  of  the  college  in  the  various 
departments  of  science,  that,  in  all  probability,  death  alone  can  divorce  him  from  his 
favorite  pursuits. 

In  1802,  Mr.  Silliman  was  appointed  professor  of  chemistry  in  the  college.  The 
knowledge  he  had  gleaned  on  this  subject  was  without  any  regular  instruction,  and 
he  deemed  himself  hardly  adequate  to  take  so  important  a  chair  in  that  venerable 
institution  without  further  preparation.  Accordingly  he  obtained  permission  to 


166  BENJAMIN     SILLTMAN,    LL.  D. 

devote  as  much  time  as  he  should  require  to  prepare  himself  for  the  discharge  of  the 
duties  of  his  professorship.  Repairing  at  once  to  Philadelphia,  he  attended  the 
courses  of  lectures  on  chemistry  regularly  delivered  at  the  university  of  that  city  for 
two  winters.  During  all  this  time  he  was  busily  engaged  in  performing  the  most 
important  experiments  in  his  own  room  ;  and  such  was  his  zeal  that  he  often  con- 
sumed the  greatest  part  of  the  night  in  them.  Here,  too,  he  commenced  the  study 
of  mineralogy,  in  which  he  has  so  distinguished  himself  since  by  his  lectures  and 
publications  on  the  subject.  As  connected  with  the  science  of  chemistry,  he  also 
attended  the  medical  lectures  of  the  university,  and  received  the  degree  of  M.  D. 

Returning  to  his  Alma  Mater,  he  entered  on  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  the 
chair  to  which  he  had  been  appointed  in  1804,  and  immediately  commenced  the 
delivery  of  a  course  of  lectures  in  chemistry,  on  the  conclusion  of  which  he  took  his 
departure  for  Europe,  whither  he  proceeded  as  agent  for  the  college  in  the  procura- 
tion of  books  and  apparatus,  and  that  he  might  perfect  himself  in  the  studies  he 
had  commenced.  He  was  abroad  a  little  more  than  a  year,  during  which  he  became 
acquainted  with  and  was  instructed  by  the  most  distinguished  professors  of  chemis- 
try, mineralogy,  and  geology. 

On  the  return  of  Professor  Silliman,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1805,  he  com- 
menced his  instructions  in  the  above-mentioned  sciences,  and  has  continued  to  fill 
that  honorable  post  up  to  the  present  day.  Besides  his  regular  duties  as  professor 
in  the  college,  he  has  given  long  and  careful  courses  of  public  lectures  on  the  various 
sciences  connected  with  his  professorship,  in  most  of  the  principal  cities  in  the 
Union,  his  last  course  being  before  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  at  Washington,  with- 
in the  present  year. 

Professor  Silliman  is  eminently  a  working  man.  He  is  never  idle,  and  while 
travelling  from  place  to  place  in  the  course  of  his  profession,  he  found  time  to 
study  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  people  among  whom  he  was  thrown,  and  to 
give  his  impressions  to  the  world  in  sundry  well-written  and  interesting  books.  In 
1810,  he  published  "  Journal  of  Travels  in  England,  Holland,  and  Scotland ;  and 
Two  Passages  over  the  Atlantic  in  the  Years  1805  and  1806  ;  "  and  in  1820, 
"  Remarks  on  a  Short  Tour  made  between  Hartford  and  Quebec,  in  the  Autumn  of 
1818."  He  is  also  the  author  of  several  works  on  geology  and  the  kindred  sciences. 
In  1851,  he  commenced  the  publication  of  the  "  American  Journal  of  Science,"  a 
work  of  rare  merit,  and  which  has  a  deserved  fame  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 
In  1851,  he  visited  Europe  again,  gathering  up  much  useful  knowledge,  which  we 
may  well  hope  will  be  given  to  the  world  after  it  has  passed  through  the  laboratory 
of  his  discriminating  mind. 


WASHINGTON    IRVING. 


NEW  YORK  city  has  the  honor  of  being  the  birthplace  of  this  elegant  scholar 
and  distinguished  writer,  where  he  was  born  on  the  3d  of  April,  1782.  He 
was  the  youngest  son  of  a  numerous  family,  and  received  his  academic  honors  at 
Columbia  College.  It  was  about  this  period  that  he  commenced  his  career  as  a 
public  writer  —  a  career  as  honorable  to  himself  as  edifying  and  instructive  to  the 
thousands  of  his  admiring  readers.  His  first  efforts  were  printed  in  the  Morning 
Chronicle,  under  the  signature  of  "Jonathan  Oldstyle,"  and  were  a  curious  prophecy 
of  his  forthcoming  greatness. 

In  common  with  all  other  young  men  just  out  of  college,  Mr.  Irving  thought  that 
he  must  have  a  profession,  and  with  the  usual  sagacity  of  such  young  men,  chose 
that  one  for  which  he  was  least  fitted  by  nature.  He  decided  on  the  law ;  and  after 
reading  the  allotted  time  in  the  office  of  the  celebrated  Josiah  Ogden  Hoffman,  duly 
installed  himself  as  "  Counsellor  at  Law,"  and  opened  an  office  in  his  native  city. 
It  is  said  that  he  was  never  unfortunate  enough  to  have  but  one  client ;  and  his  cause 
he  was  altogether  too  diffident  to  manage  ;  and  so,  turning  over  both  client  and 
cause  to  one  of  his  brethren  who  had  less  modesty,  he  left  the  profession  in  disgust. 
and  —  what  thanks  does  not  the  world  owe  him!  —  decided  to  pursue  the  mor*> 


168  WASHINGTON     IRVING. 

flowery  path  of  literature.  In  this  choice  Mr.  Irving  evinced  a  rare  judgment  — 
some  say  that  he  committed  a  happy  blunder  —  as  it  was  to  him  the  only  sure  one 
to  fame.  He  had  evidence  enough  of  his  unfitness  for  the  drudgery  of  official  de- 
tails—  and  that  he  was  destined  to  something  better  —  during  the  brief  period  of  his 
public  life  as  Minister  to  Spain.  The  lion  to  the  plough  —  the  eagle  to  the  rearing 
of  chickens  in  a  bam  yard  —  WASHINGTON  IRVING  to  the  petty  duties  of  a  public 
official !  To  diplomatize  and  negotiate  is  one,  and  a  very  good,  thing ;  to  manage 
the  affairs  of  a  state  is  another,  and  a  higher,  thing;  but  to  pour  into  the  living 
souls  of  millions  of  his  race  the  refreshing  and  strengthening  waters  of  a  benev- 

o  o  O 

olent,  holy,  and  highly  intensified  intelligence,  is  the  rare  blessedness  of  but  here 
and  there  one  of  the  numerous  family  of  the  children  of  men.  Such  men  are  the 
benefactors  of  the  race,  and  such  in  a  remarkable  degree  is  the  subject  of  this 
imperfect  memoir.  Much  has  he  written,  but  nought  that  he  could  wish  unsaid  ; 
for  a  hallowing  morality  clothes  all  his  fiction,  and  truth  his  history  ;  and  the  fame 
of  his  greatness  is  as  pure  as  it  is  sparkling. 

The  versatility  of  Mr.  Irving's  pen  is  wonderful,  and  its  power  to  create  a  laugh 
"beneath  the  ribs  of  death,"  or  wring  a  tear  of  genuine  sympathy  from  the  eye  of 
cold  philosophy,  all  have  been  compelled  to  confess.  There  is,  too,  a  freshness  and 
a  raciness  in  all  he  writes,  that  smacks  of  nothing  but  his  own  high  genius,  and  all- 
embracing  heart.  Pick  up  a  stray  leaf  from  any  of  his  many  books,  and  though  it 
have  no  mark  or  signature  to  identify  it,  yet  will  you  know  it  by  the  faithfully 
daguerreotyped  lineaments  of  his  beautiful  and  harmonious  mind. 

But  we  hope  and  believe,  that  what  has  been  is  only  promise  of  still  better  to 
corne ;  for  although  Mr.  Irving  is  approaching  the  "sere  and  yellow  leaf,"  there  is 
in  him  nothing  of  "  the  lean  and  slippered  pantaloon  ; "  and  we  know  him  to  be 
busily  engaged  in  tasks  of  literature  which  we  predict  will  throw  a  halo  of  glory 
around  his  setting  sun,  and  fill  the  measure  of  his  literary  fame. 

Unlike  some  whose  charter  of  nobility  lies  in  their  pen,  Mr.  Irving  is  the  person- 
ation of  his  best  fictions  ;  a  true  gentleman,  a  kind  neighbor,  and  a  consistent 
Christian.  May  it  be  long  before  the  shadows  lie  heavily  and  darkly  on  "  Sunny 
Side,"  —  that  "nook  as  quiet  and  sheltered  as  the  heart  of  man  could  desire,  in 
which  to  take  refuge  from  the  troubles  and  cares  of  the  world"  —  and  the  voice  that 
hath  so  often  blessed  our  childhood,  and  cheered  and  strengthened  our  manhood, 
solacing  our  saddened  hearts  in  many  of  life's  dark  passages,  — yes,  may  it  be  long 
Defore  that  pleasant  voice  shall  be  lost  in  the  silence  of  the  dead. 


LEVI   WOODBURY. 


LEVI  WOODBURY  was  born  in  Francistown,  New  Hampshire,  in  January. 
1790.  He  received  a  solid  education  at  the  common  schools  of  his  native 
town,  and  with  a  little  Latin,  Greek,  and  mathematics,  acquired  at  a  neighboring 
academy,  where  he  spent  a  few  months,  he  entered  Dartmouth  College,  in  1805,  and 
graduated  in  1809,  with  a  high  reputation  for  talents  and  learning.  During  the 
vacations  of  his  collegiate  course,  Mr.  Woodbury  taught  the  common  schools  of 
several  of  the  neighboring  towns  with  eminent  success.  After  studying  law  for  the 
usual  term  of  time,  he  was  admitted  to  practice,  and  opened  an  office  at  Francis- 
town,  in  1812. 

Mr.  Woodbury  applied  himself  very  diligently  to  the  duties  of  his  chosen  profes- 
sion, and  soon  had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  he  was  rising  in  character  as  a 
member  of  the  bar,  and,  before  he  had  attained  to  middle  life,  to  see  himself  rated 
as  among  the  foremost  of  his  profession.  This  was  during  the  exciting  period  of 
hostilities  between  England  and  our  own  government,  when  politics  ran  high,  and 
no  rnan  of  ordinary  ability  could  keep  aloof  from  the  agitating  and  all-engrossing 
questions,  of  the  day.  Mr.  Woodbury  was  early  interested  in  and  advocated  with 


170  LEVI    WOODBURY. 

much  zeal  the  democratic  side  of  these  questions.  Previous  to  1816,  the  whigs  held 
the  ascendency  in  the  state  elections;  but  during  this  year,  through  the  influence  of 
that  most  remarkable  and  devoted  politician,  Hon.  Isaac  Hill,  democracy  rose 
triumphantly  to  the  ascendant,  which  position  it  has  held  to  the  present  time.  On 
the  meeting  of  the  legislature,  in  1816,  Mr.  Woodbury  was  chosen  secretary  to  the 
Senate,  and,  in  January  following,  was  appointed  one  of  the  three  judges  of  the 
Superior  Court.  Much  fault  was  found  with  this  appointment,  on  account  of  the 
unusual  youth  of  the  incumbent  —  he  being  only  twenty-six  years  of  age;  but  the 
manliness  of  his  acquirements,  combined  with  the  strength  of  his  natural  gifts,  showed 
that  a  man  is  not  to  be  measured  by  his  years.  He  soon  acquired  a  high  legal  repu- 
tation, and  his  opinions  were  respected  by  all  his  brethren  in  the  same  profession. 

In  1819,  Judge  Woodbury  removed  to.  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  and 
married  Miss  Clapp,  of  Portland.  In  1823,  he  was  elected  governor  of  his  native 
state.  In  1825,  he  was  sent  from  Portsmouth  to  the  legislature,  and,  during  the 
same  session,  was  elected  by  that  body  a  member  of  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  where  he  took  his  seat  at  the  commencement  of  the  session  of  1825-6. 

During  the  four  years  Governor  Woodbury  held  a  seat  in  that  august  body,  he 
took  a  high  and  dignified  stand,  and  commanded  the  respect  of  his  fellow-senators. 
His  duties  were  arduous,  and  were  discharged  with  a  zeal  and  fidelity  which  secured 
the  approval  of  his  constituents.  During  this  period,  also,  his  labors  in  his  profes- 
sion, which  were  most  arduous,  and  often  delicate,  were  discharged  with  great 
satisfaction  to  those  who  engaged  his  services. 

In  April,  1830,  he  was  invited  by  President  Jackson  to  a  seat  in  the  cabinet,  He 
accepted  the  high  honor,  and  entered  immediately  on  the  duties  of  Secretary  of  the 
Navy.  On  the  rejection  of  Taney  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Mr.  Woodbury  was 
nominated  to  that  office,  and  his  nomination  was  confirmed  by  the  Senate,  in  1834. 
He  remained  in  this  office  until  the  close  of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  administration.  The 
winter  previous  he  had  been  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  by  the  legislature 
of  New  Hampshire,  and  took  his  seat  in  that  body  in  1841.  Having  served  the 
period  for  which  he  was  elected  with  credit  to  himself,  he  retired  to  his  New 
England,  where  he  died  in  1851. 


HON.   DANIEL    DEWEY    BARNARD,   LL.  D. 

DANIEL  DEWEY  BARNARD  was  born  in  Berkshire  county,  Massachusetts. 
While  he  was  a  mere  child,  his  father  removed  to  Western  New  York,  where 
he  worked  upon  the  farm  until  he  was  about  twelve,  when,  for  want  of  something 
better,  his  father  placed  him  in  the  county  clerk's  office  at  Canandaigua.  At  fourteen 
he  became  deputy  clerk  in  the  office,  and  at  that  early  age  often  had  the  entire  charge 
of  the  "business  of  the  office. 

His  opportunities  for  education  had  hitherto  been  very  meagre,  and  manifesting  a 
decided  turn  of  mind  for  study,  he  was  sent  to  Lenox  Academy,  where  he  fitted  for 
college,  and  entered  as  Sophomore  at  Williams  College,  from  which  he  graduated  in 
1818,  honored  with  the  delivery  of  the  poem  on  that  occasion. 

Without  pursuing  any  regular  course  of  study,  Mr.  Barnard  took  out  a  license  as 
counsellor,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the  Supreme  Court.  He  opened  his  office 
at  Rochester,  New  York,  in  1824,  and  passed  immediately  into  an  extensive  practice, 
being  employed  in  the  trial  of  causes  both  at  home  and  in  neighboring  counties. 
In  1826,  he  was  made  District  Attorney  for  the  county  of  Munroe,  and  held  that  office 
until,  in  the  fall  of  1826,  he  was  put  in  nomination  for  Congress,  and  in  1827  elected 

12 


L72  HON.    DANIEL    DEWEY    BARNARD,    LL.  D. 

by  the  republican  party,  in  whose  principles  he  was  educated.  His  district  included 
the  present  Munroe  and  Livingston  counties.  The  nomination  and  election  were 
unsought  and  unexpected  by  him,  and  his  acceptance  withdrew  him,  while  yet  a 
young  man,  and  lately  married,  from  a  lucrative  practice  in  the  law.  He  was  the 
youngest  member  of  the  twentieth  Congress,  although  one  of  the  most  active  and 
efficient.  He  delivered  his  first  speech  on  the  celebrated  "  D'Auterive  claims,"  and 
which  was  said  to  be  a  close  and  logical  argument  against  the  claim. 

It  was  about  this  period  that  the  anti-masonic  excitement  commenced  in  New 
York,  and  spread  with  wonderful  rapidity,  not  over  that  state  alone,  but  through  all 
the  other  states  of  the  Union.  From  the  first,  Mr.  Barnard  steadily  resisted  this  strange 
and  overwhelming  fanaticism.  No  candidate  opposed  to  this  lunacy  could  expect 
to  succeed,  and  he  accordingly  lost  his  election,  and  returned  to  Rochester,  where  he 
once  more  devoted  himself  to  the  practice  of  the  law.  At  this  time  the  "  Morgan  tri- 
als,'' as  they  were  significantly  denominated,  were  proceeding,  and  Mr.  Barnard  became 
counsel  for  the  defence  in  a  number  of  instances.  The  excitement  and  fatigue  he 
underwent  undermined  his  health,  and  he  determined  upon  a  voyage  over  sea,  as  the 
best  means  of  reestablishing  it ;  and  accordingly,  in  the  fall  of  1830,  the  subject  of 
our  memoir  sailed  for  Europe.  He  visited  France,  Italy,  Switzerland,  Belgium,  and 
England,  and  returned  home  in  the  summer  of  1831.  He  was  in  Europe  a  little  less 
than  five  months,  and  was  a  diligent  traveller  and  observer ;  and  while  abroad  he  found 
time  to  embody,  in  a  series  of  letters,  the  impressions  made  upon  him  by  the  new 
scenes  and  the  interesting  events  of  the  period.  In  the  autumn  of  1832,  Mr.  Bar- 
nard removed  to  the  city  of  Albany,  where,  avoiding  the  more  arduous  duties  of  his 
profession,  his  services  were  rendered,  as  counsellor  and  adviser,  to  those  who  de- 
sired it. 

In  1839,  Mr.  Barnard  once  more  took  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Representatives  at 
Washington,  which  he  retained  until  the  close  of  the  twenty-eighth  Congress,  in 
March,  1845.  During  this  long  period,  his  services  were  important,  and  rendered  with 
that  aptness  and  fidelity  which  have  ever  marked  all  the  labors  of  hjs  life. 

"  As  a  speaker,  Mr.  Barnard  is  clear,  convincing,  and  argumentative.  He  speaks 
in  a  measured  and  deliberate  tone,  and  occasionally  throws  out  a  lofty  sentiment, 
which  shows  the  depth  and  dignity  of  his  intellect.  His  manner  is  earnest,  but  at 
the  same  time  courteous  and  deferential  to  opponents.  The  face  of  Mr.  Barnard  is 
that  of  a  student —  pale,  grave,  and  thoughtful.  In  stature,  he  is  tall ;  he  is  past  the 
meridian  of  life."  In  1835,  the  degree  of  doctor  of  laws  was  conferred  upon  him  by 
Geneva  College,  and  in  1845  the  same  honor  was  awarded  him  by  Columbia  College, 
in  New  York. 


HON.    RUFUS    CIIOATE. 


AS  an  orator  and  close,  logical  reasoner,  we  have  few  men  in  our  country  who 
rank  higher  than  the  Hon.  RUFUS  CHOATE,  "  the  great  Massachusetts  lawyer/' 
Indeed,  we  cannot  well  compare  his  characteristics  as  a  public  speaker  with  those  of 
any  other  man,  —  he  is  sui  generis.  His  manner  is  now  impetuous  —  violent,  anon 
soft  as  a  woman's ;  now  stirring  the  intellect  and  the  passions,  then  touching  with 
the  sweetest  pathos  the  seals  of  the  heart's  deeper  wells,  until  they  melt  away,  and 
suffer  all  their  waters  of  tenderness  to  come  gushing  up  into  your  eyes  while  you  listen. 
All  this  is  aided  by  a  voice  sometimes  sweeter  than  any  flute,  and  presently  as 
stirring  as  the  blast  of  any  trumpet.  When  he  addresses  a  jury  or  a  popular  assem- 
bly, he  brings  to  his  aid  the  entire  anatomy  of  his  frame,  lips,  eyes,  arms,  legs  —  the 
very  garments  which  he  wears. 

Mr.  Choate  was  born  in  Ipswich,  Massachusetts,  on  the  1st  of  October,  1799. 
He  entered  Dartmouth  College  in  1815.  While  in  college  he  was  noted  for  remark- 
able assiduity,  and  he  made  a  corresponding  progress,  graduating  with  much  eclot. 
After  leaving  college,  he  was  chosen  tutor.  Having  decided  to  study  law,  he  shortly 
after  resigned  his  tutorship,  and  entered  the  Law  School  at  Cambridge.  He  after- 


174:  HON.     RUFUS    CHOATE. 

wards  studied  a  year  with  Mr.  Wirt,  attorney  general  of  the  United  States,  and 
completed  his  studies  in  the  office  of  Judge  Cummins,  of  Salem,  Massachusetts. 

Mr.  Choate  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  the  town  of  Danvers,  in 
1824.  But  a  considerable  portion  of  the  period  between  his  first  entry  into  his  pro- 
fession and  his  final  removal  to  Boston,  in  1834,  was  passed  in  Salem.  "  He  dis- 
tinguished himself,"  says  the  "Whig  Review,  "  as  an  advocate.  His  legal  argu- 
ments, replete  with  knowledge ;  conducted  with  admirable  skill ;  evincing  uncommon 
felicity  and  power  in  the  analysis  and  application  of  evidence;  blazing  with  the 
blended  fires  of  imagination  and  sensibility ;  and  delivered  with  a  rapidity  and 
animation  of  manner  which  swept  along  the  minds  of  his  hearers  on  the  torrent 
of  his  eloquence,  made  him  one  of  the  most  successful  advocates  at  the  Essex  bar." 

Mr.  Choate  commenced  his  political  life  in  1825,  when  he  was  chosen  a  member 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts.  In  1827, 
he  was  sent  to  the  Senate,  where  he  soon  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  debates,  and 
the  energy  and  sagacity  which  he  displayed  gave  him  a  wide  reputation.  In  1832, 
he  was  elected  member  of  Congress  from  the  Essex  district.  He  declined  a  reelec- 
tion, and  in  1834  removed  to  Boston,  to  devote  himself  to  his  profession.  He  soon 
took  a  position  among  the  most  eminent  lawyers  at  the  Suffolk  bar ;  and  for  seven 
years  his  legal  services  were  in  continual  request.  In  1841,  on  the  retirement  of  Mr. 
Webster  from  the  Senate,  he  was  elected  to  fill  his  place  by  a  large  majority  of  the 
Massachusetts  legislature  —  an  honor  which  Massachusetts  bestows  on  none  but 
men  of  signal  ability  and  integrity.  Since  Mr.  Choate  resigned  his  seat  in  the 
Senate,  he  has  been  exclusively  devoted  to  his  profession. 

Mr.  Choate  is  still  in  the  prime  of  life,  being  only  fifty-three,  and  we  may  well 
hope  that  he  will  yet  render  valuable  service  to  his  country  and  to  literature. 

We  will  close  our  brief  sketch  of  this  accomplished  scholar,  lawyer,  and  states- 
man, by  quoting  a  sentence  from  his  second  speech  on  the  tariff,  exhibiting  his 
tendency  to  playfulness,  whenever  opportunity  offers,  even  in  his  gravest  speeches  :  — 

"  Take  the  New  England  climate,  in  summer ;  you  would  think  the  world  was 
coming  to  an  end.  Certain  recent  heresies  on  that  subject  may  have  had  a  natural 
origin  there.  Cold  to-day  ;  hot  to-morrow  ;  mercury  at  eighty  degrees  in  the  morn- 
ing, with  wind  at  south-west ;  and  in  three  hours  more  a  sea  turn,  wind  at  east,  a 
thick  fog  from  the  very  bottom  of  the  ocean,  and  a  fall  of  forty  degrees  of  Fahren- 
heit ;  now  so  dry  as  to  kill  all  the  beans  in  New  Hampshire ;  then  floods  carrying 
off  the  bridges  of  the  Penobscot  and  Connecticut ;  snow  in  Portsmouth  in  July  ;  and 
the  next  day  a  man  and  a  yoke  of  oxen  killed  by  lightning  in  Rhode  Island.  You 
would  think  the  world  was  twenty  times  coming  to  an  end !  But  I  don't  know  how 
it  is  :  we  go  along ;  the  early  and  the  latter  rain  falls,  each  in  its  season ;  seedtime 
and  harvest  do  not  fail ;  the  sixty  days  of  hot,  corn  weather  are  pretty  sure  to  be 
measured  out  to  us.  The  Indian  summer,  with  its  bland  south-west,  and  mitigated 
sunshine,  brings  all  up ;  and  "on  the  twenty-fifth  of  November,  or  thereabouts,  being 
Thursday,  three  millions  of  grateful  people,  in  meeting  houses,  or  around  the  family 
board,  gfive  thanks  for  a  year  of  health,  plenty,  and  happiness." 


MRS.    ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

"VVTHATEVER  religious  opinions  he  may  cherish,  or  however  destitute  he  may 
Y  T  be  of  such  opinions,  no  man  can  fail  to  be  filled  with  admiration  at  such 
exhibitions  of  lofty  self-sacrifice  and  magnanimous  devotion  to  deeds  of  love  as 
present  themselves  in  the  lives  of  those  women  who,  under  a  strong  conviction  of 
duty,  taking  their  lives  in  their  hand,  and  leaving  behind  them  forever  the  comforts 
and  luxuries  of  a  Christian  civilization,  have  gone  forth  to  labor  and  die  in  most 
ungenial  climes  and  barbarous  lands,  in  order  that  they  might  bring  "  the  heathen 
for  an  inheritance  "  to  God. 

Such  was  the  holy  self-consecration  of  ANN  HASELTINE,  the  first  wife  of  Rev, 
Adoniram  Judson,  D.  D.,  whose  missionary  labors  have  made  him  notorious  through- 
out the  world.  She  was  bom  in  Bradford,  Massachusetts,  on  the  22d  of  December, 
1789.  Possessed  of  unusual  personal  attractions,  and  a  buoyancy  of  spirits  which 
nothing  could  long  depress,  up  to  the  age  of  seventeen  she  led  a  gay  and  merry  life. 
Of  a  social  disposition,  with  a  warm,  strong  heart  beating  within  her  bosom,  she 
multiplied  her  friendships,  and  formed  some  strong  attachments.  At  this  time,  she 
declares  that  she  thought  herself  the  happiest  person  on  earth.  "  I  so  far  surpassed 
all  others  in  gayety  and  mirth,"  she  adds,  "  that  some  of  my  friends  were  apprehen- 


176  MRS.     ANN    H.    JUDSON. 

sive  I  had  but  a  short  time  to  continue  in  my  career  of  folly,  and  should  be  suddenly 
cut  off.  Thus  passed  the  last  winter  of  my  gay  life." 

The  spring  and  summer  of  her  seventeenth  year,  1806,  witnessed  an  entire  change 
in  her  life  and  feelings.  She  became  thoughtful,  and  greatly  anxious  concerning  her 
condition.  Her  anxiety  deepened  into  intense  distress,  and  decided  her  to  consecrate 
her  soul  and  body  to  a  holy  life.  In  this  earnest  resolve  she  found  peace.  Hers  was 
no  half-way  character,  and  she  entered  into  her  new  life  with  the  same  hearty  zeal 
which  had  marked  her  worldly  career.  At  once  and  forever,  she  renounced  her  gay 
companions  and  all  her  youthful  pursuits,  joined  the  Orthodox  church,  in  her  native 
town,  in  the  following  August,  and  devoted  her  whole  being  to  prayer,  meditation, 
reading,  and  active  works  of  piety.  "  Such  was  my  thirst  for  religious  knowledge," 
she  says,  "  that  I  frequently  spent  a  great  part  of  the  night  in  reading  religious 
books."  "  Besides  the  daily  study  of  the  Scripture,  with  Guise,  Orton,  and  Scott 
before  her,"  says  her  biographer,  "  she  perused,  with  deep  interest,  the  works  of 
Edwards,  Hopkins,  Bellamy,  Doddridge,"  etc.  She  took  upon  herself,  also,  the 
gratuitous  charge  of  some  poor,  young  children ;  believing,  as  she  says,  "  that  she 
ought  to  do  as  well  as  feel." 

On  the  5th  of  February,  1812,  in  the  23d  year  of  her  age,  she  became  the  wife  of 
Mr.  Judson,  and  immediately  embarked  for  Burmah,  the  scene  of  her  future  labors, 
in  company  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Newell,  who  were  likewise  entering  upon  the  field 
of  foreign  missionary  enterprise.  They  reached  Calcutta  in  June  following,  and 
were  immediately  conducted  to  Serampore  by  the  venerable  Dr.  Carey,  that  being 
his  home.  Here  their  trials  commenced,  which  ended  only  with  her  life.  After 
great  persecution  and  distress,  she  reached  her  home  in  Burmah,  the  scene  of  her 
coming  trials  and  duties.  "  Adieu,"  she  exclaims,  in  a  letter  to  her  friends  in 
America,  "  adieu  to  polished,  refined,  Christian  society.  Our  lot  is  not  cast  among 
you,  but  among  pagans,  among  barbarians,  whose  tender  mercies  are  cruel."  Here, 
with  every  conceivable  discouragement  to  encounter,  under  the  debilitating  influ- 
ences of  a  tropical  climate,  and  far  away  from  the  sympathies  and  cooperation  of 
fellow- Christians,  she  commenced  her  arduous  duties  with  the  same  cheerful  zeal 
and  untiring  devotion  which  had  ever  marked  her  career,  alike  unterrified  by  the 
physical  dangers  and  social  difficulties  which  assailed  her.  Her  health  failing,  she 
returned  to  America  for  a  brief  period,  by  the  way  of  England,  in  the  year  1822, 
and  then  returned  to  labor,  and  suffer,  and  die  in  the  land  of  her  adoption.  In  the 
autumn  of  1826,  this  devoted  and  Christian  missionary  fell  asleep  in  Jesus,  and  she 
and  her  infant  child  were  committed  to  the  repose  of  the  bosom  of  their  mother 
oarth. 


MRS.  EMILY  C.  JUDSON. 


THE  name  of  "  Fanny  Forrester"  is  familiar  to  all  the  readers  of  our  lighter  lit- 
erature. The  playfulness  of  her  fancy,  the  chaste  and  sparkling  purity  of  her 
wit,  together  with  the  high  moral  tone  prevailing  in  all  she  writes,  give  her  produc- 
tions a  charm  that  beguiles  many  a  youthful  heart,  and  is  not  without  its  effect 
upon  the  frostier  of  her  readers.  Who  would  ever  guess,  while  fascinated  by  one 
of  her  lively  and  exhilarating  books,  that  the  author  was  one  day  destined  to  dwell 
under  the  palm-trees  of  Burmah,  and  become  a  schoolmistress  to  the  ignorant  hea- 
then of  that  tropical  clime  —  that  the  gay-hearted,  childlike  Fanny  Forrester  should 
be,  one  day,  the  missionary  wife  of  an  old  man  who  had  already  committed  her  two 
predecessors  to  the  "  golden  sands  of  Burmah  "  !  Arid  yet  there  is,  to  our  mind,  a 
moral  beauty,  and  even  grandeur,  in  her  more  recent  relations  which  eclipses  her 
former  glory,  and  excites  our  profoundest  admiration  for  the  high  and  unselfish  mo- 
tives which  prompted  her  to  make  so  large  a  sacrifice  for  so  doubtful  a  good. 

Mrs.  EMILY  C.  JUDSON  is  a  native  of  the  state  of  New  York.  Her  childhood 
exhibited  the  unusual  combination  of  a  rare  precocity  with  an  amiable  desire  to 
promote  the  happiness  of  those  with  whom  she  was  associated.  Very  early  in  life, 
she  manifested  an  unusual  tact  in  "telling  stories,"  which  she  used  to  do  to  admiring 


178  MRS.    EMILY    C.    JUDSON. 

groups  of  her  companions,  who  were  ever  ready  to  relinquish  their  sports  to  listen  to 
her  childish  creations.  A  little  later  in  life,  she  used  to  write  her  stories,  and  would 
often  sit  up  all  night  to  complete  them,  and  afterwards  read  them  to  her  playfellows. 
She  also  strung  together  verses  of  considerable  merit.  She  embraced  religion  at  an 
early  age,  and  was  baptized  by  Rev.  Mr.  Dean,  a  missionary  to  China,  then  on  a 
visit  to  this  country.  At  that  time,  she  became  deeply  interested  in  the  missionary 
enterprise,  and  greatly  desired  to  devote  herself  to  the  work  of  Christianizing  hea- 
thendom. But  these  impressions,  as  also  her  religious  fervor,  gradually  wore  away, 
and  she  became  fond  of  worldly  society  and  enjoyments. 

Being  desirous  of  doing  something  towards  her  own  maintenance  and  the  increase 
of  the  somewhat  limited  resources  of  her  home,  she  became  a  teacher  in  a  seminary 
in  Utica.  While  here,  she  determined,  also,  to  make  her  pen  a  source  of  profit  to 
herself,  at  the  same  time  it  should  be  the  channel  of  good  things  to  others.  At  first, 
her  labors  met  with  an  indifferent  reception  from  the  public,  and  contributed  but 
meagrely  to  the  increase  of  her  means.  In  1844,  by  a  well-directed  and  happy 
letter  to  the  editor  of  the  New  York  Mirror,  she  secured  the  good  will  and  patronage 
of  the  fastidious  and  critical  editor  of  that  paper,  and  was  thus  brought  before  the 
reading  public  in  the  most  favorable  manner. 

Under  the  sobriquet  of  "  Fanny  Forrester,"  she  became  a  constant,  and  exceed- 
ingly popular,  contributor  to  that  literary  journal,  and  her  letters,  tales,  and  disqui- 
sitions were  copied  into  almost  every  newspaper  in  the  land,  and  delighted  and 
instructed  thousands  upon  thousands,  who  still,  and  ever  will,  remember  her  with 
gratitude  and  delight.  A  vein  of  thoughtful  tenderness,  relieved  with  a  gushing 
playfulness  that  will  not  be  restrained,  runs  through  all  her  compositions,  rendering 
them  a  very  acceptable  treat  to  the  readers  of  light  literature. 

But  this  pleasant  career  was  suddenly  cut  short  by  an  accidental  meeting,  in  the 
city  of  Philadelphia,  with  Mr.  Judson,  whose  wife  she  became  on  the  2d  of  June, 
1846,  and  sailed  with  him  immediately  after  for  the  new  field  of  labor  into  which 
she  joyfully  entered. 

In  1850,  Mrs.  Judson  was  called  to  mourn  the  loss  of  her  fond  and  devoted  hus- 
band. He  died  on  board  ship,  far  from  home,  and  left  his  wife  and  children  almost 
strangers  in  a  heathen  land.  He,  "  the  Christian  hero,"  sleeps  in  his  "  unquiet  sep- 
ulchre "  down  in  the  far  ocean  caves ;  and  she  remains  to  train  his  surviving  chil- 
dren in  the  way  of  honor  and  a  holy  life. 


MAJOR    GENERAL    WINFIELD    SCOTT. 


W  INFIELD  SCOTT,  the  son  of  a  farmer  by  the  name  of  William  Scott,  was 
born  near  Petersburg,  Virginia,  on  the  13th  of  June,  1786.  He  was  the 
youngest  of  two  sons,  and  had  three  sisters.  His  father  dying  when  he  was  a 
child,  his  mother,  with  a  small  property,  and  left  with  five  children,  contrived  to  give 
him  a  good  education.  He  chose  the  legal  profession,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  1806,  at  the  age  of  twenty.  When  the  war  of  1812  broke  out,  he  applied  for  and 
received  a  commission  of  captain  of  artillery,  and  accompanied  General  Hull  in  his 
inglorious  campaign. 

The  first  battle  of  our  young  hero  was  fought  at  Queenstown  Heights,  under 
commission  from  Madison,  as  lieutentant  colonel,  with  a  force  of  some  four  hundred 
men,  against  a  British  force  of  thirteen  hundred  men ;  and,  although  defeated,  such 
was  the  desperate  valor  with  which  he  held  out  against  the  overwhelming  odds,  that 
the  victory  seemed  rather  to  hover  over  the  American  than  the  British  flag. 

On  being  exchanged,  Scott  again  repaired  to  the  ground  of  his  former  exploits, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  several  lesser  actions,  with  success,  until  midsummer, 
when  he  took  Fort  Erie,  and  fought  the  bloody  battles  of  Chippewa  and  Lundy's 
Lane,  in  which  he  exhibited  a  rare  and  mature  military  knowledge,  and  fought  with 
a  bravery  that  insured  success  under  the  most  fearful  circumstances.  In  this  last 


180  MAJOR     GENERAL    WINFIELD     SCOTT. 

action  he  was  severely  wounded,  and  had  to  be  borne  on  a  litter  to  Buffalo,  thence 
to  Williamstown,  and  afterwards  to  Geneva.  After  recovering  sufficiently,  he  slowly 
journeyed  towards  Philadelphia,  whither  he  repaired  for  further  surgical  aid.  Con- 
gress voted  him  a  large  gold  medal,  incribed  with  the  names  of  "  Chippewa "  and 
"  Niagara,"  and  bearing  his  likeness.  The  states  of  New  York  and  Virginia  like- 
wise bestowed  a  similar  high  compliment,  by  votes  of  thanks,  and  by  making  him 
valuable  gifts. 

After  the  war,  General  Scott  served  his  country  in  several  capacities,  both  as  a 
soldier  and  a  civilian,  and  his  name  has  been  connected  with  every  presidential  cam- 
paign since  1828.  In  1841,  by  the  death  of  General  Macomb,  he  became  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  the  army.  Previous  to  this,  he  had  been  sent  several  times  to 
quell  the  revolts  of  some  of  our  most  restless  tribes  of  Indians,  and  was  chosen  by 
Jackson  as  the  leader  of  the  army  that  was  to  put  down  South  Carolinian  nullifica- 
tion. He  was  also  ordered  to  Maine,  in  1839,  to  adjust  the  difficulties  between  that 
state  and  the  British  government  respecting  our  north-eastern  boundary ;  and  his 
mission  was  conducted  with  skill  and  wisdom. 

The  brilliant  military  career  of  General  Scott  in  the  late  Mexican  war  not  only 
reflects  the  highest  glory  on  his  name,  as  the  chief  who  planned  and  executed  all 
the  movements  of  the  American  army,  from  the  bombardment  of  San  Juan  de  Ulloa 
to  the  capture  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  but  forms  one  of  the  most  glorious  military 
campaigns  on  record.  It  took  the  world  by  surprise,  and  established  forever  the 
chivalrous  courage  and  military  prowess  of  our  citizen  soldiery.  When  we  consider 
the  fearful  odds  he  had  to  encounter,  and  take  into  account  the  fact  that  he  fought 
the  enemy  on  his  own  soil,  having  to  contend  with  all  the  deadly  influences  of  cli- 
mate, we  feel  that  we  can  confidently  assert  that  it  has  no  parallel  in  the  history  of 
modern  warfare. 

We  have  not  time  to  follow  the  hero,  in  detail,  throughout  that  splendid  cam- 
paign. Suffice  it  to  say,  that  under  the  walls  of  San  Juan  de  Ulloa ;  in  the  dispo- 
sition made  of  the  city  and  castle  after  their  surrender ;  in  the  orderly  line  of  march 
taken  up  from  Vera  Cruz  to  the  capital ;  in  the  heroic  storming  of  Cerro  Gordo  ;  the 
capture  of  Jalapa ;  the  taking  of  Perote ;  the  occupation  of  Puebla ;  the  negotia- 
tions carried  on  while  the  enemy  rested  a  while  at  this  latter  place ;  the  battle  of 
Contreras ;  the  fall  of  San  Antonia ;  the  bloody  action  of  Churubusco ;  the  fight  at 
Molino  del  Rey ;  the  bombardment  and  storming  of  the  almost  inaccessible  Chapul- 
tepec ;  and  the  final  triumphant  entrance  into  the  capital  of  Mexico ;  —  in  all  these 
masterpieces  of  military  execution,  the  head  and  hand  of  the  commander-in-chief 
are  seen,  and  place  him,  at  once,  among  the  great  and  successful  military  heroes  of 
modern  times. 

General  Scott  was  now  virtually  the  governor  of  Mexico,  and  he  became  sole 
director  of  public  affairs.  His  position  was  novel  and  difficult  in  the  extreme. 
Alone  he  performed  the  duties  of  Commander-in-chief,  President  of  the  country,  and 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  In  no  respect  did  he  fail,  and  in  no  respect  did  he  come 
short  of  the  highest  expectations  of  his  government. 

On  the  establishment  of  peace,  General  Scott  returned  in  triumph  to  his  home,  to 
receive  the  congratulations  of  his  friends,  and  the  thanks  of  his  countrymen.  At 
the  time  of  writing  this  article,  he  is  the  regularly-nominated  candidate  of  the  whig 
party  for  the  office  of  President  of  the  United  States. 


LEWIS    CASS. 


SOME  men  become  famous  by  a  few  brilliant  actions  ;  others  work  their  way  tc 
greatness  by  constant  labor ;  the  first  are  the  geniuses  of  the  world,  the  last,  it& 
heroes.  LEWIS  CASS  belongs  to  the  latter  class.  He  was  born  in  the  village  of 
Exeter,  New  Hampshire,  October  9,  1782.  Receiving  his  education  at  the  far-famed 
academy  of  his  native  village,  he  followed  the  fortunes  of  his  family,  in  1799,  to 
Ohio,  then  the  land  of  promise,  and  the  extreme  west,  and  studied  law  at  Marietta, 
in  the  office  of  the  late  Governor  Meigs.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1802,  and 
followed  his  profession  several  years  in  that  place.  In  1806,  he  was  sent  to  the 
legislature  of  Ohio,  where  his  unusually  strong  diplomatic  mind  began  to  unfold 
itself.  This  was  the  period  of  the  famous  Burr  conspiracy,  which  was  believed  to 
have  for  its  object  the  disunion  of  the  states,  and  the  erection,  in  the  west,  of  a  sep- 
arate government.  The  Ohio  River,  with  its  numerous  islands,  was  the  rendezvous 
of  the  conspirators,  and  their  point  of  departure.  The  national  arm  could  not  reach 
them  in  their  hiding-place,  and  it  was  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Cass  that  the  states 
were  empowered  to  act  in  the  matter.  This  speedily  resulted  in  the  dispersion  of 
the  men,  and  the  destruction  of  the  mad  scheme  of  separation. 

In  1807,  he  received  the  appointment  of  marshal  of  the  state,  which  office  he  filled 


182  LEWIS    CASS. 

until  1813,  when  he  resigned  it.  In  1812,  he  was  a  volunteer  in  that  famous  expe- 
dition against  Canada,  under  the  direction  of  the  imbecile  Hull,  in  which  he  acted 
with  the  rank  of  Colonel.  It  is  well  known  that  he  disapproved  of  all  the  weak  and 
timorous  measures  adopted  at  head-quarters.  Though  not  present  at  the  capitula- 
tion, he  was  involved  in  it,  and  became,  with  the  rest,  a  prisoner  of  war. 

In  the  spring  of  1813,  Colonel  Cass  was  exchanged,  and  immediately  promoted 
to  the  rank  of  brigadier  general.  Joining  General  Harrison  at  Seneca,  he  aided  in 
the  pursuit  of  Proctor,  and  shared  the  victory  at  the  Moravian  Towns ;  and,  at  the 
close  of  the  war,  was  charged  with  the  military  command  of  Michigan,  over  which, 
in  1813,  he  was  called  to  preside  in  the  civil  capacity  of  governor. 

This  was  at  a  period  when  the  whole  western  and  north-western  frontiers  were 
occupied  with  ungovernable  hordes  of  savage  Indians,  between  whom  and  the 
United  States  little  fraternity  existed.  A  new  mode  of  treatment  was  now  to  be 
adopted.  The  rifle  had  done  its  work,  and  the  savage  was  tamed  into  submission. 
The  policy  of  the  states  was  now  to  make  them,  as  far  as  possible,  friends.  This  was 
to  be  effected  only  by  the  most  consummate  negotiation.  It  is  not  often  that  the 
warrior  makes  a  good  negotiator ;  but,  in  the  present  emergency,  Governor  Cass  was 
looked  to  as  a  man  possessing  the  necessary  qualifications.  Nor  did  he  disappoint 
the  government.  No  American,  perhaps,  has  been  more  extensively  and  success- 
fully engaged  in  that  delicate  and  difficult  kind  of  diplomacy.  From  1815  to  1831, 
when  he  received  the  appointment  of  Secretary  of  War,  under  the  administration 
of  General  Jackson,  he  was  in  constant  treaty  with  the  various  western  Indian 
tribes  ;  having,  during  that  period,  assisted  at  no  less  than  ten  councils  with  the  red 
men  of  the  wilderness.  To  say  that  he  did  not  sometimes  fail,  would  be  to  say 
that  he  was  not  human  ;  but  to  say  that  his  conduct  on  these  trying  occasions  was 
marked  by  great  skill  and  prudence,  is  only  to  do  him  justice. 

In  1828,  the  "  Historical  Society  of  the  State  of  Michigan  "  was  organized,  and 
Governor  Cass  elected  its  first  president.  In  the  following  year,  he  delivered  the 
first  anniversary  address,  embracing  the  early  history  of  that  growing  state.  In 
1830,  he  received  from  Hamilton  College,  in  New  York,  the  degree  of  LL.  D. 

Mr.  Cass  has  repeatedly  been  called  to  a  seat  in  the  national  councils,  and  has 
ranked  on  the  democratic  side  of  the  house.  It  is  not  our  purpose,  nor  would  it  be 
decorous,  to  pass  an  opinion  on  the  party-political  measures  of  living  men  ;  that 
judgment  must  be  left  to  posterity.  That  his  talents  as  a  statesman  and  a  lawyer 
are  of  a  high  order,  all  must  allow ;  and  he  has  left,  and  will  leave,  his  mark  upon 
his  generation,  which  other  generations  will  feel  and  gratefully  acknowledge. 


WILLIAM    POTTS    DEWEES,   M.  D. 

BORN  in  Pottsgrove,  Pennsylvania,  in  1776,  a  poor  and  orphan  child,  without 
any  academical  instruction,  WILLIAM  P.  DEWEES  entered  upon  the  duties  of 
the  medical  profession  at  Abington,  about  fourteen  miles  from  Philadelphia,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-one,  where  he  speedily  engrossed  all  the  valuable  practice  of  the 
neighborhood,  and  soon  rose  to  such  a  degree  of  eminence  as  to  attract  the  notice 
and  secure  the  patronage  of  Rush,  and  the  friendship  of  Weistar,  Physic,  and  other 
eminent  men  in  his  profession.  At  that  period,  the  science  of  obstetrics  was  scarcely 
known  in  this  country.  To  this  branch  of  his  profession,  Dr.  Dewees  gave  the  full 
strength  of  his  great  mind.  Hitherto  midwifery  had  been  only  an  adjunct ;  he  now 
determined  to  make  it  a  separate  science ;  and  to  him  belongs  the  honor  of  first 
conceiving  and  delivering  a  full  course  of  lectures  on  the  subject.  He  spared  no 
pains  to  inform  himself  for  his  work,  and  thus  armed,  and  strengthened  with  the 
holy  consciousness  of  the  need  of  such  a  work,  he  proceeded  to  his  task,  and  deliv- 
ered his  course  to  a  small  body  of  students  in  his  own  office  in  Philadelphia,  to 
which  city  he  had,  meanwhile,  removed. 

About  this  period,  Dr.  Dewees  married  the  daughter  of  Dr.  Rogers,  "  of  New  Eng- 
land," who  in  a  few  years  suddenly  fell  a  victim  to  acute  disease.     We  may  as 


181  WILLIAM     POTTS     DEWEES,    M.    D. 

well  add  here  that,  in  1802,  he  married,  as  his  second  wife,  Miss  Mary  Lorrain,  the 
daughter  of  a  highly  respectable  merchant  of  Philadelphia.  By  this  union,  he  be- 
came the  father  of  five  sons  and  three  daughters.  This  lady,  in  whose  connection 
he  was  greatly  blessed,  shared  his  prosperity  and  fame,  and,  in  the  days  of  his  gath- 
ering darkness,  cheered  and  consoled  his  sinking  spirit  to  the  very  gate  of  heaven. 

In  the  spring  of  1806,  he  applied  for,  and  received  from  the  university,  the  degree 
of  M.  D.,  that  he  might  be  fully  prepared  as  a  candidate  for  the  new  chair  of  obstet- 
rics about  to  be  established  in  the  university.  It  was  not,  however,  until  1810,  that 
an  election  of  its  occupant  took  place;  and  then  there  were  several  candidates,  hav- 
ing great  claims.  It  fell  to  the  lot  of  Dr.  Thomas  C.  James,  greatly  to  the  disap- 
pointment of  the  subject  of  this  memoir. 

In  1812,  Dr.  Dewees  resigned  his  business,  on  account  of  ill  health,  and  removed 
to  Philipsburgh,  where  he  invested  his  property,  which  he  entirely  lost,  but  regained 
his  health.  Again  he  repaired  to  the  city,  and  once  more  entered  upon  a  successful 
course  of  practice,  and  commenced  the  publication  of  the  result  of  his  study  and 
experience.  He  published  several  volumes  on  the  science  of  obstetrics,  on  the 
"  Treatment  of  Children,"  on  the  "  Diseases  peculiar  to  Woman,"  and  several  kin- 
dred subjects.  During  this  period,  his  exertions  were  almost  herculean ;  for,  besides 
his  literary  labors,  he  was  engaged  in  a  wide  and  arduous  practice. 

In  1825,  Dr.  James's  health  having  declined,  the  trustees  of  the  university  elected 
Dr.  Dewees  assistant  professor  with  Dr.  James,  and,  in  1834,  on  the  retirement  of 
the  latter  gentleman  from  the  chair,  Dr.  Dewees  was  unanimously  elected  his  suc- 
cessor. Up  to  this  period,  prosperity  sat  at  his  hearthstone,  and  happiness  rested  on 
his  home.  But  now,  a  change  was  to  take  place ;  and  the  trivial  circumstance  of  a 
sprained  ankle  was  made  the  turning-point.  Long  confinement  to  his  house,  in 
consequence  of  this  lameness,  induced  plethora,  and  in  April,  1834,  he  was  stricken 
with  apoplexy.  By  the  early  and  unremitting  care  of  his  medical  friends,  he  was 
rescued  from  the  grave,  and,  after  resting  from  his  labors,  and  travelling  for  a  few 
months,  he  returned  to  the  duties  of  his  office,  apparently  restored  to  health.  His 
hopes,  and  those  of  his  friends,  however,  were  destined  to  perish  ;  and,  after  many 
futile  attempts  to  rally,  he  resigned  his  office  in  November  of  the  following  year. 
The  students,  on  his  retiring  from  the  office,  presented  him  with  a  magnificent  silver 
vase,  with  an  inscription  expressive  of  their  respect  and  esteem.  The  occasion  of 
the  presentation  of  this  piece  of  plate  was  affecting  in  the  extreme. 

Dr.  Dewees  sought  the  restoration  of  his  health  in  a  change  of  climate,  and  im- 
mediately embarked  for  Cuba.  After  spending  the  winter  here,  he  went  to  Mobile, 
where  he  resided  for  several  years,  moderately  pursuing  his  profession.  In  May, 
1840,  he  returned  to  Philadelphia,  where,  after  many  months  of  severe  suffering,  he 
expired  on  the  20th  of  May,  1841,  aged  sixty-five  years. 


COMMODORE    STEPHEiN    DECATUR. 


4  NOBLER  or  a  braver  man  never  trod  the  planks  of  a  man-of-war's  decks 
J-\.  than  STEPHEN  DECATUR;  while  his  cool  sagacity  and  clear-headedness  were 
fully  equal  to  his  courage.  In  the  destruction  of  the  frigate  Philadelphia,  a  Tripol- 
itan  prize,  lying  in  the  harbor  of  Tripoli,  and  his  attack  upon,  and  capture  of,  the 
Tripolitan  gunboats,  which  were  anchored  under  the  very  muzzles  of  the  guns  of 
the  Turkish  batteries ;  in  his  gallant  capture  of  the  Macedonian ;  in  the  brave  chal- 
lenge he  sent  to  the  commander  of  the  British  squadron,  who  had  cooped  him  up  in 
the  River  Thames,  in  Connecticut,  to  pit  the  two  frigates  United  States  and  Macedo- 
nian with  any  two  frigates  in  the  English  fleet,  (which  honor,  hovvever,  was  declined ;) 
in  his  energetic  negotiations  with  the  Tripolitans,  which  resulted  so  gloriously  to 
the  government  under  whose  orders  he  sailed,  and  whose  flag  he  went  to  vindicate ; 
—  in  all  these  leading  acts  of  his  gallant  life,  as  well  as  in  many  of  minor  account, 
Decatur  exhibited  the  greatest  talents  for  a  naval  leader,  and  wreathed  for  his  brows 
a  chaplet  of  renown  which  the  world  shall  honor,  and  his  countrymen  glory  in,  until 


186  COMMODORE  STEPHEN  DECATUR. 

"  the  sword  shall  be  beaten  into  a  ploughshare,  and  the  spear  into  a  pruning 
hook." 

Would  that  we  could  drop  here  the  pen  of  record,  and  draw  the  veil  of  oblivion 
over  the  tragic  act  which  caused  his  sun  to  disappear  in  mid-heaven  in  darkness  and 
smoke.  Terrible  as  war  is,  had  the  hero  fallen  amid  the  roar  of  his  own  victorious 
cannon,  mutilated,  mangled,  and  deformed,  his  had  been  the  death  of  fame  and 
glory ;  but  that  he  should  have  fallen  by  his  own  hand  —  for  we  hold  every  duel-death 
a  case  of  suicide  —  is  cause  for  regret  as  deep  as  it  is  useless. 

Early  in  the  war  of  1812,  Decatur  superseded  Commodore  Barron  in  command 
of  the  Chesapeake.  From  that  moment  an  enmity  was  established  between 
them,  which  time  only  served  to  acerbate,  and  which  led  to  many  hard  words  on 
either  side,  and,  in  1819,  to  a  correspondence  between  them,  which  only  precipitated 
matters,  and  ended  in  a  challenge.  The  correspondence,  afterwards  published,  was 
full  of  the  most  bitter  accusations,  cutting  sarcasm,  and  biting  irony,  and  was  not 
justified  by  the  positions  the  writers  occupied  in  the  world. 

Both  gentlemen  professed  to  reprobate  duelling,  yet  such  was  their  mutual  hatred, 
that  neither  would  offer  conciliation,  although  the  friends  of  both  did  what  was  in 
their  power  to  prevent  the  dreadful  result.  On  a  raw,  chilly  morning  in  March, 
1820,  these  brave  men,  who  had  fought  side  by  side  for  glory  and  their  country,  met 
in  mortal  combat  on  the  field  of  Bladensburg,  so  famous  for  its  unholy  and  bloody 
sacrifices  to  a  false  honor.  Even  on  the  Aceldamaic  field,  efforts  were  renewed  to 
procure  reconciliation,  but  neither  would  recede.  Accordingly,  the  combatants  took 
their  ground,  and  each  fired  at  the  same  instant,  and  each  received  the  ball  of  his 
antagonist.  Barron  was  very  dangerously,  Decatur  mortally,  wounded.  The  latter 
was  conveyed  to  Washington,  where  his  bereaved  wife  remained  in  blessed  igno- 
rance of  the  dreadful  matter  until  a  few  moments  before  the  bleeding  body  of  her 
husband  was  borne  to  his  home.  Her  distraction  was  heart  rending,  and  the  whole 
city  was  shrouded  in  gloom. 

"  The  garlands  wither  on  your  brow ; 

Then  boast  no  more  your  mighty  deeds  ; 
Upon  Death's  purple  altar  now 

See  where  the  victor-victim  bleeds  ; 
All  hands  must  come 
To  the  cold  tomb  ; 
Only  the  actions  of  the  just 
Smell  sweet  and  blossom  in  the  dust."  —  Shirley. 

Commodore  Decatur  was  born  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Maryland,  on  the  5th  of 
January,  1779,  and  was  killed  on  the  22d  of  March,  1820,  in  the  42d  year  of  his  age. 


RED    JACKET. 


RED  JACKET,  or  SA-GOY-E-WA-THA,  as  is  his  Indian  name,  a  chief  of  the  Sen- 
ecas,  was,  unquestionably,  the  most  remarkable  orator,  excepting  "  the  good 
Logan,  the  white  man's  friend,"  that  ever  came  of  Indian  stock.  He  was  born  about 
the  middle  of  the  last  century,  near  where  the  city  of  Buffalo  now  stands,  and  which 
was  the  residence  of  the  Senecas.  He  was  of  a  brave  but  generous  nature,  and  had 
small  delight  in  the  ferocities  of  Indian  warfare.  He  was  sagacious  and  prudent, 
very  thoughtful,  and  possessed,  withal,  of  a  most  determined  spirit.  He  could  nei- 
ther be  terrified  nor  cajoled  into  any  measure.  He  preserved  the  utmost  decorum 
and  dignity  of  manner  at  all  times,  until  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  when  he  fell 
a  victim  to  the  accursed  "  fire-water,"  which  has  destroyed  so  many  of  his  race.  His 
hut  was,  for  years,  the  resort  of  the  learned  and  the  curious,  who  went  thither  to 
hear  "  the  old  man  eloquent "  discourse  on  the  traditions  of  his  race,  or  on  the  ab- 
struse sciences  of  philosophy  or  theology.  His  dwelling  stood  on  a  spot  which  was 
secured' to  the  Seneca  tribe,  and  called  the  Reservation.  Here  he  dwelt,  like  a  shorn 
king,  receiving  the  homage  of  his  fallen  people,  —  those  degraded  braves  of  a  de- 
graded chief,  —  thus  affording  another  proof  that  civilization  destroys,  instead  of 
elevating,  the  savage. 

13 


188  RED    JACKET. 

In  his  better  days,  many  were  the  pious,  but  fruitless,  attempts  to  convert  the 
intractable  Sa-goy-e-wa-tha  to  Christianity.  He  resisted  all  intercession,  hurling 
back  the  argumentum  ad  hominem,  "  Your  religion  does  not  make  good  men  of  the 
whites ;  what  can  it  do  more  for  the  red  man  ?  "  In  1805,  at  the  request  of  a  mis- 
sionary, Rev.  Mr.  Cram,  from  Massachusetts,  Red  Jacket  and  his  tribe  held  a  solemn 
council  on  the  question  of  their  becoming  Christians.  After  the  missionary  had 
done  speaking,  Red  Jacket,  after  solemn  deliberation  with  his  tribe  for  the  space  of 
two  hours,  declined  the  proposal  in  one  of  the  most  masterly  speeches  ever  delivered 
into  the  ears  of  men. 

Red  Jacket,  like  some  of  his  white  brethren,  could  not  at  all  understand  the  mys- 
teries of  the  vicarious  sacrifice  —  how  he  and  his  tribe  could,  by  any  method  of  rea- 
soning, in  justice  be  made  participators  in  the  guilt  of  the  crucifixion.  In  conversation 
with  a  clergyman,  who  was  laboring  to  let  a  little  light  into  his  benighted  soul  on 
this  abstruse  subject,  he  observed,  "  Brother,  if  you  white  men  murdered  the  Son 
of  the  Great  Spirit,  as  Indians  we  had  nothing  to  do  with  it,  and  it  is  none  of  our 
affair.  If  he  had  come  to  us,  we  would  not  have  killed  him ;  we  would  have  treated 
him  well.  You  must  make  amends  for  that  crime  yourselves."  In  concert  with  his 
tribe,  he  made  a  formal  complaint  to  the  governor  of  New  York  on  the  troublesome 
interference  of  the  missionaries,  and  thenceforward  their  rights  were  respected. 

In  1821,  a  man  of  the  tribe  died,  as  was  supposed,  through  the  influence  of  witch- 
craft.  A  woman  was  accused,  tried,  and  executed  as  the  offending  agent.  Com- 
plaint was  made  against  Sa-goy-e-wa-tha  and  his  chiefs,  and  they  had  their  trial  by 
the  judicial  authorities  of  New  York.  Some  severe  remarks-  were  made  on  the 
superstition  of  the  Indians  in  respect  to  witchcraft.  But  Red  Jacket,  who  was  upon 
the  stand,  with  flashing  eye  and  knitted  brow,  yet  with  a  calm  tone,  exclaimed, 
"  What !  do  you  denounce  us  as  fools  and  bigots,  because  we  still  continue  to 
believe  that  which  you  yourselves  sedulously  inculcated  two  centuries  ago  ?  Your 
divines  have  thundered  this  doctrine  from  the  pulpit,  your  judges  have  pronounced 
it  from  the  bench,  your  courts  of  justice  have  sanctioned  it  with  the  formalities  of 
law ;  and  you  would  now  punish  our  unfortunate  brethren  for  adherence  to  the  super- 
stitions of  our  fathers !  Go  to  Salem !  Look  at  the  records  of  your  government, 
and  you  will  find  hundreds  executed  for  the  very  crime  which  has  called  forth  the 
sentence  of  condemnation  upon  this  woman,  and  drawn  down  the  arm  of  vengeance 
upon  her.  What  have  our  brothers  done  more  than  the  rulers  of  your  people  have 
done  ?  and  what  crime  has  this  man  committed  by  executing,  in  a  summary  way, 
the  laws  of  his  country  and  the  injunctions  of  his  God  ?  " 

The  meeting  between  Lafayette  and  Red  Jacket,  when  the  former  was  last  in  the 
United  States,  is  represented  as  affecting  in  the  extreme.  Alluding  to  the  time  that 
had  passed  since  they  met  in  mortal  enmity  on  the  field  of  deadly  strife,  the  general 
observed  to  him,  that  time  had  much  changed  them  since  that  meeting.  "Ah!" 
said  Red  Jacket,  "  time  has  not  been  so  severe  upon  you  as  it  has  upon  me.  It 
has  left  to  you  a  fresh  countenance,  and  hair  to  cover  your  head  ;  while  to  me  .  .  . 
behold  .  .  .  ! "  and  taking  a  handkerchief  from  his  head,  with  an  air  *of  much 
feeling,  he  showed  his  head,  which  was  almost  entirely  bald. 

On  the  20th  of  January,  1830,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years,  Sa-goy-e-wa-tha  left 
the  world  to  join  those  who  had  gone  before  him  to  the  hunting  grounds  of  the 
Spirit-land. 


GOVERNOR    ROBERT    Y.    HAYNE. 


THIS  eloquent  orator  and  eminent  statesman,  so  long  and  favorably  known,  as 
such,  throughout  the  country,  was  born  near  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  on 
the  10th  of  November,  1791.  Mr.  Hayne  is  an  example,  added  to  many  others,  of 
what  may  be  accomplished  without  the  aid  of  academies  and  colleges.  His  early 
education  was  obtained  at  the  grammar  schools  in  the  city  of  Charleston ;  his  later 
training  was  in  the  school  of  life,  where  "the  clink  of  mind  against  mind"  strikes 
out  those  brighter  intellectual  sparks  which  illumine  the  world,  and  reflect  glory 
from  the  brow  of  genius. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen,  young  Hayne  entered  the  office  of  Langdon  Cheeves,  a 
distinguished  jurist  and  lawyer  of  South  Carolina,  and,  after  the  usual  course  of 
reading,  commenced  the  practice  of  law  in  Charleston.  On  a  requisition  of  the 
general  government  on  South  Carolina  for  a  regiment  to  defend  the  southern  sea- 
board, at  the  opening  of  the  war  of  1812,  Mr.  Hayne  volunteered  his  services,  and 
entered  the  army  as  lieutenant,  and  served  in  various  grades  to  the  termination 
of  the  term  of  his  enlistment,  when,  having  received  an  honorable  discharge,  he 
returned  to  Charleston,  and  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession,  in  which  he  soon 
became  prominent. 


190  GOVERNOR    ROBERT    Y.    HAYNE. 

Starting  with  no  patrimony,  such  was  the  success  of  our  youthful  lawyer,  that, 
at  the  end  of  a  few  years,  he  found  himself  blessed  with  a  competency.  His 
remarkable  powers  as  an  orator  soon  brought  him  into  political  notoriety ;  and,  as 
early  as  1814,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  house  of  the  state  legislature,  and  in 
1818,  he  was  chosen  speaker  of  that  body,  an  office  which  he  filled  with  remarkable 
dignity  and  promptitude  for  one  so  young.  During  the  same  session,  he  was  ap- 
pointed attorney  general  to  the  state,  being  but  twenty-seven  years  of  age.  In  1822, 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  United  States  Senate,  which  office  he  retained  for 
ten  years. 

It  was  during  the  latter  part  of  his  second  term  that  the  nullification  difficulties 
arose  between  South  Carolina  and  the  United  States,  in  which  General  Hayne  took 
so  prominent  and  conspicuous  a  position,  and  which  we  need  not  here  enlarge  upon, 
as  it  is  fresh  in  the  memory  of  all  our  readers.  In  1832,  he  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  famous  "  Union  and  State- Rights  Convention,"  and,  as  chairman  of  "  the  com- 
mittee of  twenty-one"  he  reported  the  "  Ordinance  of  Nullification,"  which  was 
adopted  by  the  convention,  and  filled  the  whole  country  with  alarm  and  apprehen- 
sion for  the  safety  of  the  Union.  He  was  immediately  chosen  governor  of  the  state, 
and,  on  the  receipt  of  President  Jackson's  famous  proclamation  against  the  nullifiers 
of  South  Carolina,  Governor  Hayne  sent  forth  a  counter  proclamation,  "full  of 
lofty  defiance  and  determined  resolution."  After  much  angry  discussion,  plotting 
and  counterplotting,  fortunately  for  the  country  those  difficulties  were  arranged 
without  bloodshed  or  disunion.  In  1834,  he  was  elected  mayor  of  the  city  of 
Charleston,  and,  in  1837,  president  of  the  "  Charleston,  Louisville,  and  Cincinnati 
Railroad  Company,"  which  office  he  held  until  his  death,  which  took  place  at  Ash- 
ville,  North  Carolina,  September  24,  1841,  in  the  50th  year  of  his  age. 

"  His  abilities  were  of  an  eminently  practical  cast ;  he  was  ready  in  resources, 
clear  in  judgment  and  conception,  fluent  and  graceful  in  speech,  and  endowed  with 
a  persuasive  eloquence  which  never  failed  to  find  its  way  to  the  hearts  of  his  audi- 
ence, and  told  with  equal  effect  in  the  popular  assembly  and  in  the  intelligent  legis- 
lature. In  public  life,  he  was  pure  and  patriotic,  and  few  men  ever  enjoyed  a  higher 
degree  of  public  confidence.  In  private  life,  he  was  distinguished  for  the  same  spot- 
less integrity  that  marked  his  public  career,  and  for  those  domestic  and  social  virtues 
which  adorn  and  dignify  human  nature.  His  celebrated  passage  at  arms,  in  1830, 
with  the  celebrated  senator  of  Massachusetts,  [Daniel  Webster,]  will  long  live 
in  the  recollection  of  those  who  witnessed  it,  as  one  of  the  most  gallant  and  in- 
teresting conflicts  ever  fought  on  the  field  of  senatorial  debate,  and  as  one  in  which 
both  of  the  combatants  crowned  themselves  with  laurels  of  eloquence,  and  an  acces- 
sion of  intellectual  fame,  however  widely  opinions  may  have  differed  in  awarding 
the  palm  of  victory.  To  the  great  railroad  enterprise,  of  which  he  was  the  soul  as 
well  as  the  head,  he  devoted  himself  with  his  characteristic  zeal,  energy,  and  ability, 
sustaining  it  equally  by  his  business  talent  and  his  persuasive  eloquence." 


ELIHU    BURRITT. 


ONE  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  the  present  century  is  the  "  Learned  Black- 
smith," who,  from  the  scrubby  boy  who  "blew  the  bellows"  in  an  obscure 
country  smithy,  has,  by  his  own  genius  and  labor,  elevated  himself  to  the  very 
head  of  the  learned  savans  of  the  world  as  a  linguist. 

ELIHU  BURRITT  was  born  at  New  Britain,  Connecticut,  on  the  8th  of  December, 
1811.  He  labored  on  the  farm  of  his  father  until  the  death  of  the  latter,  which 
event  occurred  when  Elihu  was  sixteen  years  of  age,  previous  to  which  he  had  been 
blessed  with  but  three  months'  instruction  at  the  village  school.  He  now  appren- 
ticed himself  to  a  blacksmith  of  the  town,  whom  he  faithfully  served  until  he  was 
twenty-one.  During  his  apprenticeship,  he  suffered  no  moment  to  pass  in  idleness. 
While  blowing  at  the  forge,  he  was  studying  from  some  book  set  up  conveniently 


192  ELIHU    BURRITT. 

against  the  chimney ;  and  in  this  way  he  mastered  the  English  and  Latin  grammars, 
and  several  other  elementary  works.  On  closing  his  apprenticeship,  he  attended 
school  for  a  half  year,  under  the  tuition  of  a  brother.  In  this  time,  he  made  won- 
derful attainments  in  mathematics,  Latin,  French  and  Spanish.  JTe  then  returned 
to  the  anvil,  and  labored  fourteen  hours  each  day,  to  recruit  his  finances,  that  he 
might  gratify  his  thirst  for  knowledge  by  purchasing  the  necessary  books.  In  the 
autumn,  with  the  vague  idea  that  the  very  atmosphere  of  some  seat  of  learning 
would  be  propitious  to  his  wishes,  he  went  to  New  Haven,  and,  having  secured 
board  at  an  obscure  inn,  he  commenced  his  studies  without  instruction,  sympathy, 
or  fellow-students.  In  the  spring,  he  returned  to  New  Britain,  having  acquired  no 
inconsiderable  addition  to  his  previous  stock  of  knowledge ;  and  after  spending  some 
months  in  several  unsuccessful  "  experiments  in  living,"  he  resolved  to  make  a  voyage 
to  Europe,  by  working  his  passage,  that  he  might  pursue  the  study  of  the  Oriental 
languages,  having  already  mastered  the  Greek,  Latin,  Spanish,  French,  Italian,  and 
German. 

See  our  hero,  then,  "  resolutely  on  foot,"  with  his  face  towards  Boston,  the  nearest 
seaport,  with  three  dollars  in  his  wallet,  and  in  his  pocket'**  an  old  silver  watch  that 
wouldn't  go  unless  it  was  carried,"  and  he  too  poor  to  get  it  repaired,  with  all  his 
"  other  worldly  wealth  tied  up  in  a  handkerchief."  On  arriving  at  Boston,  foot  sore 
and  weary  with  a  journey  of  more  than  one  hundred  miles,  he  found  no  ship  to  carry 
him  to  the  treasures  which  he  sought;  but  hearing  that  he  might  find  the  means  of 
gratifying  his  thirst  at  the  Antiquarian  Library  at  Worcester,  thither  he  turned  his 
steps.  Here  he  studied  and  labored  at  the  forge  alternately,  mastering  the  Hebrew, 
Syriac,  Danish,  Bohemian,  Celtic,  and  the  various  languages  of  the  Sclavonic  and 
Scandinavian  tongues,  and  perfecting  himself  in  the  higher  mathematics,  About  this 
time,  he  wrote  a  letter,  in  the  Celto-Breton  tongue,  to  the  president  of  the  "  Royal 
Antiquarian  Society  of  Paris,"  and  received,  in  return,  a  very  flattering  reply,  accom- 
panied by  many  valuable  and  interesting  documents,  which  were  priceless  treasures 
to  our  blacksmith-student. 

In  1838,  by  invitation  from  Governor  Everett,  he  went  to  Cambridge,  received 
many  attentions  from  the  literati  of  that  ancient  seat  of  learning,  declined  their 
earnest  solicitations  to  enter  the  college,  and  returned  to  Worcester,  which  he  has 
made  his  home  to  this  day.  About  this  time,  he  commenced  giving  public  lec- 
tures on  various  subjects,  but  principally  on  Temperance  and  Peace,  and  travelled 

extensively  through  the  country  in  that  capacity. 

In  1845,  Mr.  Burritt  went  to  England,  his  great  heart  intent  on  propagating  his 
sentiments  on  the  subject  of  war,  and  establishing  a  "  Universal  Peace  League,"  in 
which  he  was  eminently  successful.  After  laboring  in  England,  Scotland,  and  Ire- 
land for  many  months,  he  returned  to  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Burritt  is  about  forty-one.  His  passion  for  knowledge  is  unabated,  and  he 
still  pursues  his  studies  with  undiminished  vigor  during  the  hours  not  occupied 
at  his  forge,  at  which  he  daily  labors  from  eight  to  twelve  hours.  It  is  said  that 
there  is  not  a  language,  which  has  a  written  record  on  earth,  that  he  has  not  mas- 
tered ;  and  he  has  made  considerable  progress  in  deciphering  some  of  those  myste- 
rious figure-writings,  the  key  to  which  has  long  ago  perished  with  their  authors. 


MARTIN    VAN    BUREN. 


MARTIN  VAN  BU.REN,  the  eighth  President  of  the  United  States,  was  born 
at  Kinderhook,  New  York,  on  the  5th  of  September,  1782.  After  acquiring 
the  best  preparation  the  schools  in  his  neighborhood  afforded,  he  entered  upon  the 
study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Francis  Sylvester,  of  Kinderhook,  where  he  remained 
about  six  years.  Before  he  had  completed  his  law  studies,  he  discovered  that  the 
way  to  celebrity  lay  through  the  mazes  of  politics,  and  that  he  who  would  success- 
fully pursue  it  must  do  so  without  wavering  or  doubt.  Assuming  the  politics  of  his 
father,  who  had  been  a  staunch  supporter  of  Jefferson's  administration,  he  entered 
the  arena  at  a  very  early  age,  and  so  won  upon  the  confidence  of  his  neighbors  and 
friends  as  to  be  appointed,  before  he  was  eighteen  years  of  age,  a  delegate  to  a  con- 
vention, held  for  important  political  purposes  in  his  native  county.  From  that  hour 
to  the  present  day  he  has  been  intimately  associated  with  the  political  history  of  his 
country,  and  has  held  the  highest  offices  the  suffrages  of  his  fellow-citizens  could 
bestow. 

In  1802,  Mr.  Van  Buren,  with  a  view  to  his  profession,  removed  to  New  York,  and 
completed  his  studies  in  one  of  the  first  offices  in  that  city,  and,  after  obtaining  a 


194:  MARTIN    VAN    BUREN. 

license,  he  returned  to  Kinderhook,  where  he  opened  his  office  and  commenced  the 
practice  of  his  profession. 

In  1807,  he  was  admitted  to  the  higher  courts,  and  fairly  entered  into  competition 
for  the  honors  and  emoluments  of  the  legal  course ;  where  his  skill  and  forensic 
powers  soon  entitled  him  to  rank  among  the  foremost  of  his  brethren.  In  1808,  he 
was  appointed  surrogate  of  Columbia  county,  the  first  public  office  he  held.  In 
1812,  he  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  New  York,  where  he  soon  distinguished  him- 
self as  a  leader  of  the  Madison  party,  and  one  of  its  most  eloquent  supporters.  He 
was  again  elected  to  the  Senate  in  1816,  and,  during  the  four  succeeding  years,  took 
a  prominent  part  in  support  of  the  great  measures  of  internal  improvement  which 
have  reflected  so  much  credit  on  the  state  of  New  York. 

In  the  year  1821,  Mr.  Van  Buren  entered  upon  a  wider  sphere  of  labor,  having 
been  elected  by  the  legislature  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  where  he  took  his 
seat  in  December  following.  During  a  course  of  nearly  eight  years,  Mr.  Van  Buren 
distinguished  himself  for  his  attention  to  business,  and  devotion  to  the  great  prin- 
ciples of  his  party,  and,  at  the  end  of  that  time,  was  recalled  by  his  fellow-citizens 
to  preside  over  the  councils  of  his  native  state,  and  on  the  1st  of  January,  1829,  he 
took  the  oath  of  governor,  and  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  He  held 
this  office  but  a  few  weeks,  for,  on  the  elevation  of  Andrew  Jackson  to  the  presi- 
dency, he  was  called  to  the  head  of  his  cabinet,  and  repaired  to  Washington  to  enter 
upon  his  duties  as  Secretary  of  State  in  March  of  the  same  year. 

Mr.  Van  Buren  held  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State  but  two  years,  during  which 
time,  however,  some  of  the  most  important  measures  of  foreign  relations  came  before 
his  notice,  and  under  his  administration  were  successfully  adjudicated.  In  the  sum- 
mer of  1831,  he  resigned  his  seat  in  the  cabinet,  and  was  immediately  sent  as  min- 
ister to  the  court  of  St.  James.  But,  on  the  Senate's  refusing  to  ratify  his  nomination, 
lie  returned  to  the  United  States;  and  having  been  put  in  nomination  by  his  party 
as  Vice  President,  was  elected  by  a  large  majority.  Having  served  with  much 
acceptance  to  his  friends  in  this  secondary  office,  he  was  triumphantly  elected,  as 
the  successor  of  General  Jackson,  to  the  office  of  President,  and  was  inaugurated 
on  the  4th  of  March,  1837.  Having  served  the  constitutional  period  of  time,  he 
retired  from  the  political  arena,  and  has  since  led  a  comparatively  quiet  life. 

Of  Mr.  Van  Buren's  political  acts,  and  the  character  of  his  administration  of  the 
affairs  of  the  nation,  it  is  not  our  province  to  speak.  As  a  man,  a  neighbor,  and 
friend,  few  public  men  have  attained  so  desirable  a  reputation.  Amidst  all  the 
bitter  outpourings  of  the  vials  of  political  wrath,  no  stain  has  fallen  upon  the 
ermine  of  his  private  character,  and  he  still  commands  the  personal  respect  of  men 
of  all  political  parties. 


WASHINGTON  ALLSTON. 

rjlHIS  eminent  painter,  and  most  excellent  and  amiable  man,  was  born  in  South 
JL  Carolina,  in  the  year  1780,  and  was  graduated  at  Harvard  College,  Cambridge, 
in  1800.  The  year  following,  he  embarked  for  Europe,  and  remained  abroad  for 
eight  years,  studying  the  works  of  the  great  masters,  and  enjoying  the  friendship  of 
the  most  distinguished  poets  and  painters  of  England  and  Italy.  Among  those  with 
whom  he  lived  on  terms  of  familiar  intimacy  were  Wordsworth,  Southey,  and 
Coleridge,  each  of  whom  enshrined  in  verse  their  affectionate  remembrance  of  hig 
genius  and  virtues.  He  had  the  instruction  and  friendship  of  West,  Fuseli,  and 
Reynolds.  While  in  Europe,  he  not  only  ingratiated  every  one  with  whom  he 
came  in  contact,  but  his  talents  and  genius  commanded  the  respect  and  considera- 
tion of  the  masters  of  his  art.  A  contemporary  thus  speaks  of  the  genius  of  the 
American  painter :  — 

"  In  painting,  the  genius  of  Allston  was  adapted  to  the  creation  of  both  the  beau- 
tiful and  the  sublime,  although  it  may  be  inferred  from  the  nature  of  his  works  that 
the  tendencies  of  his  mind  were  to  subjects  of  stern  grandeur,  and  of  strong,  deep 
feeling.  His  conceptions,  taken  from  the  highest  departments  of  art,  were  always 


196  WASHINGTON    ALLSTON. 

bold  and  original.  He  possessed  a  powerful,  as  well  as  brilliant,  imagination,  while 
the  execution  of  his  pictures  was  marked  by  a  rare  combination  of  strength,  free- 
dom, and  grace.  As  a  colorist,  his  qualities  are  best  described  by  the  name  applied 
to  him  by  the  artists  uf  Itaiy,  and  by  which  aione  ne  was  known  to  many  —  mat  of 
the  American  Titian." 

Among  his  principal  works  were  "  The  Dead  Man  restored  to  Life  by  Elijah,"  "  The 
Angel  liberating  Peter  from  Prison,"  "  Jacob's  Dream,"  "  Elijah  in  the  Desert,"  "  The 
Angel  Uriel  in  the  Sun,"  "  Saul  and  the  Witch  of  Endor,"  "  Spalatro's  Vision  of  the 
Bloody  Hand,"  «  Gabriel  setting  the  Guard  of  the  Heavenly  Host,"  "  Anne  Page  and 
Slender,"  "  Beatrice,"  and  other  exquisite  productions.  During  the  last  years  of  his 
life,  Mr.  Allston  was  engaged  upon  a  chef-d 'ceuvre  called  "  Belshazzar's  Feast,"  which, 
most  unfortunately  for  the  honor  of  his  name  and  the  credit  of  the  art,  he  was  not 
permitted  to  complete.  Enough  is  accomplished,  however,  to  show  that  the  ripened 
mind  of  the  great  artist  was  not  marred  nor  weakened  by  any  manifestation  of 
physical  decay.  It  is  the  production  of  a  great  mind  and  heart. 

But  Mr.  Allston  was  not  only  a  painter ;  his  scholarship  was  more  than  respecta- 
ble, and  he  cultivated  the  muses  with  considerable  success.  We  believe  that  the 
first  utterance  of  his  muse,  through  the  press,  was  in  a  small  volume  of  poems 
issued  in  London,  in  1813.  Some  of  these  were  marked  by  a  considerable  degree 
of  talent.  He  has  since  increased  his  reputation  as  a  poet  by  occasional  contribu- 
tions to  the  press,  some  of  which  exhibit  a  high  order  of  poetic  genius,  and  rank 
him  with  the  first  class  of  American  poets. 

A  few  years  before  his  death,  Mr.  Allston  published  a  tale  called  "  Monaldi ;"  a 
work  of  great  power  and  beauty,  and  which  gave  evidence  of  his  ability  to  write 
"  elegant  prose "  as  well  as  beautiful  poetry.  It  is  full  of  delicate  touches  in  its 
coloring,  and  shows  him  to  have  been  possessed  of  a  soul  keenly  alive  to  all  the 
beautiful  and  pure  in  nature  and  in  humanity.  It  was  just  such  a  production  as  might 
have  been  predicated  on  acquaintance  with  the  author,  for  "  he  was  a  man  of  pure 
character  and  strong  affections,  and  his  daily  life  was,  in  some  sort,  an  embodiment 
of  those  visions  of  beauty  which  belong  to  the  artist  and  the  poet." 

In  the  classic  shades  and  the  genial  influences  of  Cambridge,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  had  spent  the  earlier  and  later  portions  of  his  life,  in  the  midst  of  his 
labors,  Washington  Allston,  the  distinguished  "  painter-poet  and  poet-painter,"  bade 
adieu  to  the  scenes  of  earth  on  the  9th  of  July,  1843,  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of 
his  age. 


MAJOR    GENERAL    JOHN    E.   WOOL. 

MAJOR  GENERAL  WOOL  was  born  at  Newburgh,  Orange  county,  New 
York.  When  four  years  of  age,  he  lost  his  father,  and  at  twelve,  with  a 
small  share  of  education,  he  entered  a  store,  in  Troy,  as  clerk,  where  he  remained 
for  six  years,  when  "  he  set  up  for  himself,"  and  was  shortly  after  ruined  by  the 
conflagration  of  his  store  with  all  its  contents.  Soon  after  this  disheartening  event 
he  entered  the  office  of  John  Russell,  Esq.,  a  celebrated  lawyer  in  Troy,  and  read  law 
for  the  space  of  one  year  with  great  diligence.  This  was  just  before  the  war  of 
1812  with  Great  Britain.  The  expectation  of  this  event  induced  young  Wool  to 
seek  an  appointment  in  the  army.  His  petition  was  answered  with  a  captain's  com- 
mission in  the  thirteenth  regiment  of  the  United  States  infantry.  He  immediately 
entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  office,  and,  after  recruiting  his  company,  joined  his 
regiment  at  Greenbush,  where  he  continued  till  September,  when  the  regiment  was 
ordered  to  the  Niagara  frontier.  On  the  arrival  of  the  regiment  at  Onondaga,  five 
companies,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Christie,  were  detached  and 
ordered  to  Niagara  by  way  of  Lake  Ontario.  Here,  Captain  Wool  got  his  first 
taste  .of  war,  and  exhibited  the  same  spirit  which  has  since  so  signally  marked  his 


198  MAJOR    GENERAL    JOHN    E.    WOOL. 

military  career.  In  the  skirmish  in  which  he  was  engaged,  although  the  enemy  was 
repulsed,  several  of  the  officers  of  the  thirteenth  were  slain,  and  several  more 
wounded.  Among  the  latter  was  Captain  Wool,  who  was  shot  through  both 
thighs,  though  not  so  severely  as  to  prevent  his  taking  a  conspicuous  share  in  the 
succeeding  splendid  assault  on  Queenstown  Heights. 

For  his  brave  and  admirable  conduct  in  these  affairs,  he  was  promoted  to  a 
major's  commission,  and  for  the  same  heroic  conduct  in  the  battle  of  Plattsburg, 
he  was  breveted  lieutenant  colonel.  In  1816,  he  was  made  inspector  general  of 
division,  and,  in  1821,  of  the  whole  army.  In  1832,  the  government  despatched 
General  Wool  to  Europe  for  purposes  of  information  connected  with  military  sci- 
ence, tactics,  and  improvement  generally.  He  was  selected  for  this  mission  as 
having  the  right  qualifications  for  the  office.  He  sailed  in  the  Charlemagne  the 
last  of  June,  1832.  He  arrived  in  September,  and  was  kindly  received  by  the  then 
"  citizen  king."  He  was  one  of  his  majesty's  suite  at  a  grand  review  of  seventy 
thousand  men  and  one  hundred  pieces  of  artillery.  The  minister  of  war  conferred 
upon  him  power  to  visit  all  the  military  establishments  of  France,  and  directions 
were  every  where  given  to  receive  him  with  the  most  marked  civilities. 

In  1836,  he  was  despatched  to  the  Cherokee  country  to  superintend  the  removal 
of  the  Indians ;  a  duty  which  he  performed  with  entire  satisfaction  to  the  govern- 
ment at  Washington.  In  1838,  during  the  difficulties  which  occurred  on  our  Cana- 
dian frontier,  General  Wool  was  ordered  to  Maine,  and  instructed  to  reconnoitre  the 
whole  ground  in  dispute. 

On  the  commencement  of  the  Mexican  war,  General  Wool  joined  the  army  of 
General  Taylor,  and  accompanied  that  officer  in  all  his  brilliant  campaigns,  taking 
a  conspicuous  part  in  all  its  active  service  until  the  army  covered  itself  with  glory 
on  the  plains  of  Buena  Vista.  Previous  to  this,  his  duties  had  been  arduous,  and 
were  performed  with  a  sound  discretion  and  promptitude,  which  did  great  credit  to 
his  judgment  and  skill.  As  inspector  general,  his  was  the  duty  of  creating  the 
armies  which  were  to  carry  victory  from  Corpus  Christi  to  Buena  Vista,  and  from 
Vera  Cruz  to  Mexico. 

In  1841,  he  received  a  brigadier  general's  commission,  and,  in  1847,  for  his  splen- 
did services  at  Buena  Vista,  he  was  made  a  major  general.  On  his  return  to  the 
United  States,  this  hero  of  two  wars  was  every  where  received  with  the  honors  due 
to  his  distinguished  services. 


LJNDLEY  MURRAY. 


LINDLEY  MURRAY,  with  whose  name  every  American  schoolboy  is  familiar, 
as  the  author  of  "  Murray's  Grammar  of  the  English  Language,"  was  born  at 
Swetara,  near  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  in  the  year  1745.  A  miller  at  first,  his  father 
removed  to  the  city  of  New  York,  and  afterward  became  an  enterprising  merchant. 
At  an  early  age,  young  Lindley  was  sent  to  school  at  Philadelphia.  His  teacher  in 
the  English  department  was  Ebenezer  Kinnersley,  the  friend  and  correspondent  of 
Dr.  Franklin.  On  the  removal  of  the  family  to  New  York,  he  was  placed  under  the 
instruction  of  a  private  tutor.  Such  was  his  zeal  for  acquiring  an  education,  and  so 
closely  did  he  apply  himself  to  study,  that  his  health  gave  way,  and  he  was  obliged 
to  abandon  his  darling  project  of  obtaining  a  classical  education.  He  entered  his 
father's  counting  room,  and  for  a  time  devoted  himself  to  the  pursuits  and  vexa- 
tions of  trade,  which  were,  however,  far  from  being  in  accordance  with  his  tastes 
and  disposition,  notwithstanding  the  pains  taken  on  the  part  of  his  father  to  make 
his  duties  interesting  by  giving  him  a  share  in  the  profits  of  the  business.  But, 
after  all,  the  yoke  was  one  of  servitude,  and  he  longed  for  the  purer  air  of  the  school 
room,  and  the  more  stimulating  food  of  literature.  His  father,  withal,  was  stern 


200  LINDLEY    MURRAY. 

and  rigid  in  his  discipline ;  and  being  unnecessarily  punished,  as  he  thought,  for  a 
trivial  offence,  he  secretly  left  his  home,  and  went  to  Burlington,  New  Jersey,  where 
he  entered  himself  at  a  boarding  school,  and  once  more  resumed  his  favorite  pur- 
suits. He  did  not  long  remain  here,  however ;  for,  by  an  accident,  his  place  of  retreat 
was  discovered,  and,  through  the  friendly  interference  of  a  kind-hearted  uncle  of  his, 
he  was  restored  to  his  family,  and  once  more  resumed  the  business  he  had  so  uncer- 
emoniously given  up. 

Again  tiring  of  the  drudgery  and  routine  of  commerce,  he  persuaded  his  father, 
after  much  reasoning  with  him  on  the  subject,  to  allow  him  to  study  law,  and 
entered  the  law  office  of  Benjamin  Kissam,  Esq.,  in  whose  office  his  fathers  legal  busi- 
ness was  transacted.  He  was  furnished  with  a  fine  library  by  his  father,  and  had 
for  his  fellow-student  the  afterward  celebrated  John  Jay.  After  pursuing  his  studies 
the  allotted  space  of  time,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  commenced  the  practice 
of  his  profession  in  the  city  of  New  York.  He  also  married  an  amiable  lady  about 
this  time,  with  whom  he  lived  in  great  harmony  until  his  death. 

Shortly  after  this  event,  business  called  him  to  England ;  after  the  discharge  of 
which,  finding  that  his  health  was  benefited  by  the  change,  he  sent  for  his  family, 
and  resided  there  until  1771,  when  he  returned  to  New  York,  and  resumed  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  On  the  breaking  out  of  the  revolutionary  war,  he 
retired  to  Islap,  Long  Island.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  he  returned  to  New  York, 
and  once  more  resumed  the  business  of  his  father,  and  purchased  a  beautiful  estate 
at  Bellevue,  on  the  North  River.  But  his  health  failing,  he  went  again  to  England, 
and  purchased  a  small,  but  beautiful,  estate  in  Yorkshire,  where  his  health,  always 
infirm,  gradually  failed  him.  His  disease  was  of  the  muscles,  which  shrank  away 
and  utterly  refused  to  support  his  frame,  until  he  was  compelled  to  refrain  alto- 
gether from  any  muscular  effort  In  1809,  he  took  his  last  ride  in  his  carriage; 
and  from  that  time  to  the  day  of  his  death,  sixteen  years,  he  was  confined  to  his 
room.  During  this  time,  he  composed  a  number  of  books,  which  were  published 
among  them  his  celebrated  "  English  Grammar,"  and  several  works  of  a  religious 
character.  He  bore  his  last,  long,  and  painful  illness  with  a  rare  Christian  fortitude, 
and  calmly  fell  asleep  on  the  16th  of  February,  1826,  in  the  eighty-first  year  of  his 
age.  Both  he  and  his  wife  were  members  of  the  society  of  Friends,  and  were 
greatly  respected  and  beloved  by  all  who  knew  them 


HENRY    INMAN. 

ABOUT  the  commencement  of  the  nineteenth  century,  on  the  banks  of  the  Mo- 
hawk, while  yet  they  were  clothed  with  their  aboriginal  forests,  was  born  a  bright, 
fair-haired  boy,  who,  as  he  was  the  joy  of  his  parents,  was  destined  to  become  the 
artist-pet  of  his  country.  This  beautiful  boy's  name  was  HENRY  INMAN,  who,  even 
among  those  wilds,  far  removed  from  cities  and  from  men,  gave  early  indications  of 
the  remarkable  genius  which  was  destined  to  delight  the  world. 

Inman's  father  seems  to  have  been  a  man  of  considerable  intelligence,  and  he  had 
the  sagacity  to  detect  in  the  mind  of  the  child  the  indications  of  early  genius,  as 
well  as  the  good  sense  to  nurse  it  into  growth.  Feeling  that  a  wider  field  and  more 
liberal  means  were  necessary  for  the  development  of  the  child's  talents,  he  removed 
to  the  city  of  New  York,  and  placed  the  fair-haired  Henry  under  a  competent  teach- 
er. The  passion  of  the  child  for  works  of  art  was  so  great,  that  he  spent  his  leisure 
hours,  his  evenings,  and  his  holidays  in  exploring  the  city  in  search  of  pictures  and 
statuary. 

In  those  days,  Jarvis,  an  artist  of  some  pretension,  had  his  rooms  in  Murray  Street, 
which  were  the  resort  of  the  dilettanti.  In  1814,  Wertmiiler's  celebrated  picture 


202  HENRY    INMAN. 

of  Danae  was  then  on  exhibition,  and  thither  our  youthful  lover  of  the  fine  arts  was 
attracted.  He  was  delighted,  and  on  the  entrance  of  Jarvis,  such  was  his  "reverence 
for  an  artist,"  that  he  lifted  his  hat  from  his  head  and  bowed  as  he  passed.  "  With- 
out noticing  my  salutation,"  says  Inman,  in  speaking  of  this  visit,  "  he  walked  rapid- 
ly towards  me,  and,  with  his  singular  Igok  of  scrutiny,  peered  into  my  face.  Sud- 
denly he  exclaimed,  "  By  heavens !  the  very  head  for  a  painter !  "  The  result  of 
this  interview  was  "  a  seven  years'  apprenticeship  "  of  steady  and  thorough  training, 
in  which  he  secured  the  friendship  of  his  master,  and  made  remarkable  progress  in 
the  art  divine. 

In  1823,  he  opened  a  studio  in  Veasey  Street,  and  occupied  the  first  years  of  his 
professional  life  with  painting  miniatures,  vignettes,  etc.,  in  which  he  exhibited  some- 
thing of  the  masterstrokes  which  rendered  his  more  finished  pieces  in  after  life  so 
famous.  Among  these  earlier  productions,  "  Rip  Van  Winkle,"  "  The  Death  of 
the  Last  of  the  Mohicans,"  and  "  The  Death  of  Leatherstocking,"  have  a  fame  as 
enduring  as  that  of  their  great  producer. 

Inman  became  a  member  of  the  "  Association  of  Artists,"  in  1825,  and  when  the 
New  York  National  Academy  of  Design  "  was  established,  he  was  chosen  one  of 
its  first  vice  presidents.  Somewhere  about  1830  he  removed  to  a  beautiful  estate 
near  Philadelphia,  which  he  had  recently  purchased,  where  he  remained  until  1834, 
when  he  once  more  opened  his  studio  in  the  heart  of  New  York  city.  From  this 
time  until  his  death,  he  devoted  himself  to  the  painting  of  portraits.  So  successful 
was  he  in  this  department  of  his  art,  that  people  flocked  to  his  studio  from  all  parts 
of  the  country,  and  from  beyond  sea,  to  secure  a  true  "  counterfeit  presentment "  of 
themselves. 

Another  attraction  of  that  studio  was  the  frank  and  winning  address  of  its  master. 
His  rare  colloquial  gifts  so  beguiled  the  sitter  that  he  forgot  the  penance  of  the 
attitude,  and  appeared  himself.  This  accounts  £or  the  entire  absence  of  constraint 
in  all  his  pictures.  He  was  an  artist  born,  and  pursued  his  avocation  because  he 
loved  and  gloried  in  it. 

Mr.  Inman  was  a  great  worker.  In  the  "  Inman  Gallery,"  a  collection  of  his 
paintings  made  after  his  death,  there  are  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  pieces,  mostly 
portraits ;  and  this  does  not,  probably,  contain  one  half  of  the  productions  of  his 
pencil.  Although  Mr.  Inman  received  the  highest  price  for  his  pictures,  he  died 
a  poor  man,  having  involved  himself,  with  thousands  of  others,  in  the  mad  specula- 
tions of  1836. 


JAMES    KENT,   LL.  D. 


FTHHE  name  of  Chancellor  Kent  is  the  pride  and  boast  of  the  whole  race  of  the 
JL  Knickerbockers.  It  forms  one  part  of  the  great  judicial  trine  —  Marshall, 
Story,  Kent  —  which  reflects  so  much  honor  on  the  legal  history  of  our  country. 
JAMES  KENT  was  born  on  the  31st  of  July,  1763,  in  what  was  then  a  part  of 
Dutchess  county,  called  the  precinct  of  Fredericksburg,  now  Putnam  county,  in  the 
state  of  New  York.  At  the  age  of  five,  he  was  sent  to  an  English  school  at  Nor- 
walk,  residing  with  his  maternal  grandfather  for  several  years.  In  1773,  he  was 
placed  at  a  Latin  school  in  Connecticut,  and  between  this  and  entering  Yale  Col- 
lege, in  1777,  he  had  the  aid  of  several  instructors,  under  whose  tutelage  he  made 
rapid  proficiency.  He  had  scarcely  become  domiciliated  at  New  Haven,  when  the 
troubles  of  that  stormy  period  broke  up  the  college,  and  dispersed  the  students. 
During  the  recess  thus  occasioned,  the  boy,  then  scarcely  past  sixteen,  fell  in  with 
"  Blackstone's  Commentaries,"  with  which  he  was  so  much  pleased  that  he  deter- 
mined to  devote  himself  to  the  legal  profession  ;  and  accordingly,  on  leaving  college 
in  1781,  —  which  he  did  with  a  high  reputation  for  scholarship,  —  he  commenced  the 
study  of  the  law  under  the  direction  of  Hon.  Egbert  Benson,  then  attorney  general 
of  the  state  of  New  York,  and  subsequently  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

14 


204  JAMES    KENT,    LL.  D. 

His  natural  thirst  for  knowledge,  his  great  love  for  the  profession,  and  his  habits 
of  severe  application  could  not  fail  to  insure  success,  and  in  April,  1785,  he  was 
admitted  as  attorney  to  the  Supreme  Court.  During  the  time  occupied  with  master- 
ing the  principles  of  his  profession,  he  read,  besides  the  English  books  on  the  com- 
mon law,  the  large  works  of  Grotius  and  Puffendorf,  and,  by  way  of  relaxation, 
many  of  the  best  writers  in  history,  poetry,  mathematics,  voyages,  and  travels, 
About  this  time  he  married,  and  removed  to  Poughkeepsie,  where  he  opened  an 
'  office  and  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession,  being  admitted  as  counsellor  to 
the  same  court  in  1787. 

It  was  at  this  period  that  he  began  that  course  of  self-training,  the  value  and 
benefits  of  which  the  world  has  seen  and  experienced.  Methodical  in  all  his  arrange- 
ments, he  divided  the  day  into  six  portions.  As  soon  as  the  birds  commenced  their 
matins,  he  rose,  and  devoted  the  morning,  until  eight,  to  Latin,  two  hours  to  Greek, 
and  the  remainder  of  the  time  before  dinner  to  law ;  while  the  afternoon  was  given 
to  French  and  English  authors,  the  evening  being  consecrated  to  friendship  and 
recreation,  for  which  no  man  had  a  keener  zest. 

Mr.  Kent  did  not  escape  the  entanglements  of  politics,  but  entered  heartily  into 
the  great  political  discussions  of  that  exciting  period,  joining  the  federal  party,  and 
acting  with  Hamilton  and  his  compeers,  who  always  entertained  for  him  the  utmost 
respect  In  1790,  and  again  in  1792,  he  was  elected  to  the  state  legislature.  In 
the  following  year,  he  removed  to  the  city  of  New  York,  and,  in  December,  was 
appointed  professor  of  law  in  Columbia  College.  While  occupying  this  chair,  in 
ithe  discharge  of  the  duties  of  which  he  displayed  those  vast  stores  of  legal  lore 
which  be  had  been  accumulating  for  years,  he  was  honored  by  his  college  with  the 
••degree  of  LL.  D.,  and  he  afterwards  received  the-  same  honors  from  Harvard  and 
'Dartmouth.  In  1796,  he  was  made  master  in  chancery,  and  in  1797,  he  was 
.appointed,  by  Governor  Jay,  to  a  vacancy  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court.  In 
1800^  in  connection  with  Mr.  Justice  Radcliff,  he  was  appointed  to  revise  the  legal 
•code  of  the  state,  a  work  which  these  gentlemen  accomplished  with  much  ability, 
[n  1804,  he  was  made  chief  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  which  seat  he  filled  most 
(honorably  until  1814,  when  he  was  appointed  chancellor.  In  this  high  office  he 
'remained  until  1823,  when  having  attained  the  age  of  sixty,  the  constitutional  limit, 
,he  -resigned.  Being  now  more  at  leisure,  he  revised  his  lectures,  and  gave  them  to 
the  world,  in  four  volumes,  under  the  title  of  "  Commentaries  on  American  Law," 
a  work  which  has  become  a  text  book.  From  this  time  until  his  death,  he  kept  up 
the  same  industrious  and  temperate  habits  which  had  marked  his  whole  career, 
receiving  the  spontaneous  respect  of  the  intelligent  and  virtuous  in  the  community 
in  which  he  lived. 


Cr 


JAMES    FENNIMORE    COOPER. 


IT  has  often  been  said  that  America  has  no  literature.  If  it  be  meant  that  the 
literature  of  our  country  has  no  claim  to  antiquity,  that  we  have  no  long  cat- 
alogue of  "noble  authors"  reaching  into  the  dust  and  rubbish  of  the  past,  the 
remark  may  be  true.  But  if  it  be  meant  that  we  have  no  thinkers  and  writers  who 
will  compare  favorably  with  their  contemporaries  across  the  sea,  then  the  accuracy 
of  the  assertion  becomes  very  questionable.  Europe,  doubtless,  furnishes  a  host  that 
outnumbers  "  the  small  army  "  of  those  who  make  literature  a  vocation  in  America. 
We  are  not  of  those  who  imagine  that  there  is  no  country  like  our  own  country, 
and  there  are  no  intellects  like  American  intellects ;  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  can  we 
consent  to  the  condemnation  of  what  we  produce,  because  it  is  homebred.  There 
are  intellects  purely  American  of  which  we  are  proud,  and  to  which  we  are  disposed 
to  render  the  tribute  of  our  respect  and  admiration.  Among  this  number  is  the  sub- 
ject of  the  present  sketch,  and  we  think  that  he  will  compare  not  unfavorably 
with  the  "great  northern  wizard."  His  path  lies  through  the  flowery  fields  of 
fiction,  but  he  has,  like  Scott,  bound  his  phantasms  so  fast  by  history,  that  one 
almost  forgets  that  he  is  not  dealing  with  sober  facts.  Whether  we  sit  with  him  on 
some  sunny  slope,  and  gaze  over  the  rich  landscape  his  wizard  wand  has  enchanted 


JAMES    FENNIMORE    COOPER 

from  the  depths  of  his  own  rich  imagination  ;  or  prowl  with  "Leatherstocking " 
through  the  dusky  and  savage-begirt  forests;  or  scud  under  bare  poles  over  the 
frightened  and  laboring  sea;  or  mingle  in  the  ensanguined  fray  on  the  slippery 
decks  of  the  "  Red  Rover,"  there  is  a  freshness  and  reality  about  it  that  makes  us 
forget  that  all  our  sympathies  are  excited  for  ideal  beings,  or  that  we  are  feasting 
our  mental  eye  on  painted  emptiness.  His  writings  may  not  have  the  finish  of 
Irving,  or  the  severe  correctness  of  style  to  be  found  in  Scott,  but  there  is  a  life- 
likeness  about  what  he  has  written  that  gushes  out  like  some  bubbling  spring  on 
the  mountain  side,  and  sends  a  refreshing  coolness  to  the  lips. 

We  cannot  say  as  much  for  his  attempt  at  history  or  learned  disquisition,  although 
he  has  written  some  very  creditable  books  in  these  departments ;  but  as  a  novel 
writer,  we  think  that  he  stands  second  to  none  among  his  contemporaries. 

JAMES  FENNIMORE  COOPER,  whose  family  is  of  quite  ancient  descent,  and  main- 
tained a  very  honorable  position  in  the  history  of  the  country,  was  born  at  Borden- 
town,  New  Jersey,  on  the  15th  of  September,  1789.  At  the  age  of  ten,  his  father, 
Judge  Cooper,  removed  to  his  estate  at  Cooperstown,  where  the  child  was  put  under 
the  training  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ellison,  the  rector  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Albany,  where 
he  was  fitted  for  college.  After  spending  a  few  years  in  studying  the  classics,  he 
entered  the  navy,  at  still  a  very  early  age,  and,  during  a  few  years  of  service,  gave 
such  evidence  of  his  fitness  for  a  naval  leader,  that  a  commission  was  about  to  be 
tendered  to  him,  when  he  fell  a  victim  to  Cupid,  and  surrendered  himself  to  the 
bands  of  Hymen.  After  his  marriage,  he  gave  himself  up  to  pleasure,  travel,  and 
literature  for  some  years,  during  which  time  he  stored  his  mind  with  the  rich 
materials  which  he  has  since  wrought  into  such  delightful  fabrics. 

After  various  contributions  to  the  literary  journals,  his  first  serious  attempt  at 
novel  writing  came  before  the  world  under  the  title  of  "  Precaution."  Then  came 
the  "  Spy,"  and  "  Pioneers,"  and  "  Pilot,"  and  a  whole  brood  of  fluttering  successors, 
the  very  enumeration  of  which  we  have  no  room  for,  each  adding  to  the  fame  of 
their  author,  as  each  was  perused  by  enthusiastic  and  expectant  readers.  His  last 
work  was  published  in  1849,  and  Mr.  Cooper's  mortal  remains  were  committed  to 
the  dust  in  1851.  But  he  still  lives  in  the  hearts  of  grateful  millions,  whose  spirits 
have  been  stirred  within  them  by  his  touching  pathos,  and  whose  love  of  country 
has  been  warmed  into  new  life  by  the  patriotism  of  his  eloquent  pen. 


HON.  ROBERT  C.  WINTHROP. 


IF  the  prestige  of  high  lineage  be  any  thing  worth,  ROBERT  C.  WINTHROP  may 
felicitate  himself  on  his  noble  descent,  he  being  only  the  sixth  in  direct  line  from 
"  the  great  and  good  John  Winthrop,"  "  the  famous  governor  of  Massachusetts  Bay." 
His  father  was  a  distinguished  citizen  of  Massachusetts,  and  at  one  time  lieutenant 
governor  of  that  commonwealth.  His  grandfather,  Wait  Still  Winthrop,  was  loaded 
with  the  honors  of  office,  and  was,  before  his  death,  for  some  years  Chief  Justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Massachusetts.  Next  in  the  line  of  ascent  comes  John,  the 
eldest  son  of  the  patriarch  whose  name  became  so  famous  in  the  early  annals  of 
New  England.  This  "  eldest  son  "  was  a  man  of  high  repute,  and  one  time  was 
governor  of  the  State  of  Connecticut. 

Thus  descended  through  a  whole  line  of  great  men,  the  subject  of  our  brief  me- 
moir came  into  the  world,  it  would  seem,  to  give  the  lie  to  the  trite  saying,  that  "  the 
children  of  wise  men  are  generally  fools,"  for  his  career,  thus  far,  has  been  alike  hon- 
orable to  the  name  and  creditable  to  himself. 

Robert  C.  Winthrop  was  born  in  Boston,  on  the  12th  of  May,  1809,  and  was  educat- 
ed at  Harvard ;  where,  in  1828,  he  received  his  diploma,  and  with  it  one  of  the  three 


208  HON      ROBERT     C.    WINTHROP. 

highest  honors  awarded  to  his  class.  He  studied  law  under  the  direction  of  Daniel 
Webster,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Boston  in  1831.  But  law  was  not  so  much 
to  the  taste  of  Mr.  Winthrop  as  the  study  of  government.  Without  any  particular 
political  or  national  emergency  by  which  to  foist  himself  into  notoriety,  he  entered 
into  public  life  in  1834,  being  then  elected  to  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts,  and 
has  since  continued  in  the  public  service.  He  was  the  representative  of  Boston  in  the 
state  legislature  for  six  years,  during  the  last  three  of  which  he  was  the  speaker  of  the 
popular  branch  of  that  body.  The  duties  of  this  honorable  post  he  discharged  with 
remarkable  dignity  and  urbanity,  for  one  so  young  and  inexperienced  in  public  life. 
Whig  in  principle,  he  soon  became  a  distinguished  leader  of  that  party,  and  has  to 
the  present  time  retained  the  early  and  honorable  confidence  reposed  in  him. 

His  congressional  career  began  in  1840.  The  resignation,  in  that  year,  of  the 
representative  from  Boston,  Mr.  Abbott  Lawrence,  led  to  the  choice  of  Mr.  Winthrop 
by  a  decisive  majority.  He  thus  took  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Representatives  at  the 
second  session  of  the  twenty-sixth  Congress.  In  1841,  he  was  reflected  to  Congress, 
where  he  took  a  high  position,  both  as  an  orator  and  a  statesman.  His  gentlemanly 
bearing ;  the  utter  absence  of  coarseness  or  abuse  of  his  antagonist,  whose  arguments 
he  undertook  to  answer ;  the  chaste  and  classic  drapery  of  all  he  said  on  the  floor 
of  the  house ;  the  amiable  and  frank  deportment  which  marked  his  intercourse  with 
society,  —  these  soon  made  him  a  favorite  with  his  party,  and  commanded  the  entire 
respect  of  the  opposite  side  of  the  house. 

A  personal  and  private  affliction  compelled  Mr.  Winthrop  to  resign  his  seat  in  the 
summer  of  1842.  His  place  was  supplied  by  the  Hon.  Nathan  Appleton,  who  relin- 
quished it  at  the  close  of  that  session,  to  enable  his  friend  to  resume  his  former  seat 
at  the  commencement  of  the  following  winter ;  which  the  latter  did  after  an  election 
almost  without  opposition.  Mr.  Winthrop  continued  to  represent  the  city  of  Boston 
until,  in  the  winter  of  1851,  he  was  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy  in  the  United  State? 
Senate  occasioned  by  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Webster.  In  1848,  Mr.  Winthrop  was 
elected  to  the  speakership  of  the  honorable  body  of  which  he  had  been  a  member 
for  six  years.  In  this  position  he  has  manifested  the  same  calm  and  sharp  discrim- 
ination, urbane  and  energetic  administration  of  his  high  and  difficult  office,  which 
marked  his  early  presidency  over  the  "  Great  and  General  Court "  of  his  native 
commonwealth. 

Mr.  Winthrop  is  yet  in  the  ful]  tide  of  his  popularity,  and  has  scarcely  reached  his 
full  maturity,  being  only  about  forty-three  years  of  age. 


AD- 


JUDGE   HALLIBURTON. 


NO  man  has  yet  taken  up  the  pen  to  portray  the  peculiarities  of  an  unculti- 
vated, but  "  real  cute  "  Yankee,  —  one  whose  universal  genius  drives  him  into 
all  climes,  and  among  all  people,  and  leads  him  to  "  take  up,"  as  occasion  demands, 
every  avocation  that  ingenuity  can  devise,  from  a  schoolmaster  down  to  the  pedler 
of  tin  ware  and  Yankee  notions,  —  who  has  so  well  and  accurately  performed  his 
task  as  the  subject  of  this  brief  sketch.  Wherever  in  Yankeedom  "  The  Clock- 
maker  "  is  read,  its  truthfulness  —  bating  a  slight  tinge  of  caricature  —  is  seen  and 
gladly  confessed  on  all  hands.  It  is  somewhat  humiliating  to  our  national  pride 
that  such  a  work  should  be  the  production  of  a  foreigner,  and  like  Le  Sage,  the  French- 
man, who  wrote  the  most  perfect  novel  that  Spain  ever  gave  to  the  world,  —  we 
mean  Gil  Bias,  —  Judge  Halliburton,  Nova  Scotian  as  he  is,  has  plucked  one  of  the 
proudest  plumes  from  the  wing  of  the  American  eagle. 

JUDGE  HALLIBURTON  was  bom  about  the  year  1794,  in  Nova  Scotia,  and  was  bred 
to  the  law.  He  was  placed  upon  the  bench  at  an  early  age.  He  was  ever  a  keen 
observer  of  mankind,  and  the  sense  of  the  ludicrous  seems  to  have  been  strong  within 
him,  if  we  may  judge  by  the  productions  of  his  pen  and  his  laughter-loving  and 
kindly  face. 

"  Like  many  other  famous   literary  productions,  Sam  Slick  appears  to  have  been 


210  JUDGE    HALLIBURTON. 

the  result  of  an  accidental  inspiration.  The  author  was  a  provincial  judge,  and  in 
riding  his  circuit  he  had  often  encountered  many  peripatetic  Yankees,  with  their 
packs  of  small  merchandise,  or  their  wooden  clocks,  which  it  seems  to  be  their  mis- 
sion to  sell  to  the  rest  of  the  world.  Being  a  man  of  keen  observation  and  a  lover 
of  humor,  the  judge  amused  himself,  probably  while  stopping  a  night  at  a  dull  tav- 
ern, by  jotting  down  some  of  the  odd  remarks  he  had  listened  to  from  the  pedlers  he 
had  encountered  on  his  road,  or  met  in  the  bar  rooms  of  public  houses.  These  jot- 
tings he  sent  anonymously  to  the  editor  of  a  weekly  journal  published  in  Halifax ; 
they  were  printed  from  time  to  time,  and  their  truthfulness  and  humor  were  at  once 
perceived  and  relished.  They  were  widely  copied  in  our  own  papers,  and  owing  to 
the  great  desire  to  read  them,  the  publisher  of  the  journal  in  which  they  first  ap- 
peared collected  them  into  a  volume  and  published  them.  They  were  soon  after 
published  in  London,  at  the  time  when  the  reading  public  was  absorbed  with  the 
Pickwick  Papers,  and  for  a  while  divided  attention  with  those  popular  and  amusing 
sketches.  The  author,  seeing  what  favor  had  been  bestowed  upon  his  careless  off- 
spring, no  longer  felt  any  desire  to  deny  their  parentage  ;  and  he  no  sooner  an- 
nounced his  name  than  he  became  famous  at  a  bound.  Judge  Halliburton  had 
been  many  years  riding  his  circuit  and  deciding  the  fishy  disputes  of  the  Nova 
Scotians,  unknown  to  the  world ;  but  as  the  author  of  Sam  Slick,  his  name  became 
a  household  word  wherever  the  English  language  was  spoken." 

Judge  Halliburton  has  published  several  other  books,  but  none  of  them  will  com- 
pare with  his  first  careless,  offhand  descriptions  of  the  Yankee  pedler.  His  "  Old 
Judge  "  is  a  capital  thing  in  its  way,  and  does  credit  to  his  head  and  his  heart,  but 
it  wants  the  racy  originality  of  the  "  Clockmaker."  It  consists  of  a  series  of 
sketches,  descriptive  of  ordinary  life  in  Nova  Scotia.  It  was  published  in  Fraser's 
Magazine,  but  has  not  since  been  published  in  book  form  by  itself. 

Judge  Halliburton  is  still  in  the  very  prime  of  life,  and  we  hope  that  he  may 
seriously  give  himself  to  the  writing  of  a  perfect  history  of  his  own  province  —  a 
thing  which  has  never  been  well  done,  and  which,  we  are  quite  sure,  he  is  the  only 
living  Nova  Scotian  any  way  adequate  to  the  task.  "  He  writes  with  great  ease,  is 
perfect  master  of  a  pure  style,  and  had  he  turned  his.  thoughts  to  literature  instead 
of  law,  in  the  outset  of  his  life,  he  would  have  occupied  an  eminent  position  in  the 
republic  of  letters.  He  is  a  native  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  of  Scotch  parentage,  and  is 
the  first  British  colonist,  since  the  independence  of  the  United  States,  that  has  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  literature.  His  peculiar  humor  has  been  most  felicitously 
characterized  by  an  English  journalist  as  the  sunny  side  of  common  sense" 

"  Sam  Slick's  characteristics,"  says  the  editor  of  the  Dollar  Magazine,  "  are  those 
which  the  pure  Yankee  most  prides  himself  upon,  and  although,  when  placed  by  the 
side  of  any  one  live  specimen  of  the  race,  he  may  appear  like  an  exaggeration,  yet 
he  is  undoubtedly  true  to  nature,  and  will  serve  to  give  to  future  generations  and  to 
distant  people  an  idea  of  one  of  the  most  marked  phases  in  the  character  of  the 
Americanized  Englishman.  Our  cousins  over  the  water  are  in  the  habit  of 
amusing  themselves  with  our  Yankee  peculiarities,  as  they  may  well  do,  for  in  us 
Yankees  they  see  themselves  sublimated,  after  an  Atlantic  transmigration.  The 
genuine  Yankee  is,  in  fact,  but  a  perfected  John  Bull,  and  our  cousins  in  the  "  fast- 
anchored  isle  "  may  behold  in  us  their  own  possibilities,  as  clairvoyants  see  in  their 
spiritual  visions  the  forms  which  they  will  one  day  wear  themselves." 


HENRY    CLAY. 


4  MERICA  has  produced  a  few  men,  each  of  whom  is  a  tower  of  strength,  and 
-/"-L-  whose  memories,  as  they  pass  away,  are  fragrant  in  all  the  land.  The  subject 
of  this  memoir  is  among  the  foremost  of  these  few. 

HENRY  CLAY  was  the  son  of  a  respectable  clergyman,  and  was  born  in  Hanover 
county,  Virginia,  on  the  12th  of  April,  1777.  When  a  mere  child,  he  lost  his  father, 
in  consequence  of  which  he  received  no  other  education  than  what  was  to  be  ob- 
tained at  the  common  schools  of  that  time,  which  were  none  of  the  best.  But  his 
genius  and  application  supplied  the  place  of  means,  and  he  soon  found  himself  in 
the  ascending  scale.  At  nineteen,  we  find  him  a  student  of  law,  and  at  twenty 
admitted  to  its  practice.  He  soon  after  removed  to  Lexington,  Kentucky,  where  he 
speedily  obtained  a  very  lucrative  practice.  His  political  career  commenced  soon 
after,  and  his  first  public  acts  do  credit  to  his  nature.  He  enlisted  himself  with 
much  fervor  in  favor  of  the  emancipation  of  slaves,  a  subject  which  lay  near  his 
heart  throughout  his  long  life. 

In  1803,  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature  of  Kentucky,  and  soon  ranked  with  the 
ablest  men  in  that  body.  In  1806,  he  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  for 
one  year,  to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  resignation  of  General  Adair.  On 


212  HENRY     CLAY 

eaving  the  Senate,  he  was  again  elected  to  the  legislature,  and,  the  following  ses- 
sion, was  chosen  speaker,  which  station  he  held  for  several  successive  sessions, 
during  which  time  he  frequently  took  part  in  the  debates  which  occurred  in  that 
body. 

In  1809,  Mr.  Clay  was  again  chosen  United  States  senator.  Here  he  at  once 
took  his  position  as  a  powerful  debater  and  most  eloquent  orator.  No  man  held 
more  complete  mastery  over  the  "  ear  of  the  Senate  "  than  the  "  orator  of  Kentucky ; " 
and  during  the  time  he  occupied  a  seat  in  that  body,  he  commanded  the  respect  and 
esteem  of  his  associates. 

In  1811,  his  term  of  office  having  expired,  he  was  elected  to  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, and,  on  taking  his  seat  in  that  body,  was  chosen  speaker  by  a  tri- 
umphant vote,  a  station  he  held  until  1814.  It  was  during  this  period  that  the 
war  between  England  and  the  United  States  occurred.  Mr.  Clay  took  the  ground 
that  the  war  should  be  prosecuted  "  with  an  energy  correspondent  to  the  spirit  of  the 
country."  He  advocated  the  increase  of  the  navy  and  army,  and  all  the  means 
necessary  to  carry  on  the  war  with  vigor. 

In  1814,  Mr.  Clay  was  appointed  one  of  the  commissioners  to  negotiate  a  peace 
with  Great  Britain  ;  and  he  and  his  coadjutors  assembled  at  Ghent  the  following 
year,  and  accomplished  their  mission.  From  Ghent,  Mr.  Clay,  joined  to  Messrs. 
Adams  and  Gallatin,  proceeded  to  England,  as  one  of  a  commission  to  treat  on  the 
subject  of  a  commercial  intercourse  between  the  two  countries.  This  mission 
resulted  in  a  commercial  convention,  which  became  the  basis  ot  all  our  com- 
mercial intercourse  with  other  powers,  and  has  proved  of  inestimable  value  to  the 
interests  of  commerce  throughout  the  world. 

Returning  to  this  country  with  great  credit,  he  was  again  chosen  to  a  seat  in  the 
United  States  House  of  Representatives.  He  held  his  seat  in  this  body  until  1825, 
when  he  was  appointed  Secretary  of  State  by  President  Adams. 

Since  that  time,  Mr.  Clay  has  passed  nearly  all  his  time  in  the  national  councils, 
only  leaving  his  post  at  the  summons  of  the  "  king  of  terrors,"  and  which  occurred 
only  within  a  few  months  of  the  writing  of  this  article. 

During  the  short  session  of  Congress  in  1832—3,  Mr.  Clay  originated  and  brought 
forward  his  famous  "  Compromise  measures,"  which  reconciled  the  disunionists  of 
South  Carolina  to  their  membership  in  the  Union,  and  laid,  at  least  for  a  season, 
that  troublesome  ghost  of  Nullification  which  seems  to  be  the  periodical  nightmare 
of  the  nation. 

Mr.  Clay  has  always  exerted  his  gigantic  powers  of  mind  in  favor  of  internal 
improvements,  and  a  liberal  policy  towards  all  those  powers  with  whom  we  have 
intercourse. 

Mr.  Clay  declined  the  offers  of  a  mission  to  Russia,  and  a  place  in  the  cabinet, 
made  him  by  President  Madison,  as  also  by  President  Monroe  of  a  seat  in  his  cab- 
inet, and  the  mission  to  England  ;  and  twice  has  he  been  an  unsuccessful  candidate 
for  the  presidency. 


SUPPLEMENT. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  SUPPLEMENT. 


WE   have   thougnt  that  our   Biography  would   be   quite  incomplete,  should 
we  confine  ourselves  to  sketches  of  the  lives  of  those  men  and  women 
only  whose  portraits  have  been  preserved ;   as  there  are  many,  especially  of  the 
earlier  actors  in  American  history,  who  have  left  no  "counterfeit  presentiment" 
of  themselves  to  posterity.     "We  have  accordingly  concluded  to  add  a  Supplement 
to  each  volume,  embracing  such  eminent  characters  as  come  into  this  category. 
"We  believe  that  this  will  greatly  add  to  the  value  of  our  work,  and  meet  the 
unqualified  approval  of  our  readers. 

J.  M.  EMEKSOK  &  Co. 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  1,  1853. 


INDEX  TO  THE  SUPPLEMENT. 


Page 

Allen,  Ethan, 217 

'Bertram,  William, 219 

Belcher,  Jonathan, 220 

Benezet,  Anthony, 222 

Brewster,  William, 225 

Calvert,  Leonard, 227 

Carver,  John, 228 

Clymer,  George, 230 

Elliot,  John, 232 

Gorton,  Samuel, 234 

Heath,  William, 236 

Hooper,  William, 237 

Johnson,  Samuel, 240 

Judson,  Sarah  B., 242 

Lewis,  Francis, 246 

Massasoit, 249 

Oglethorpe,  James, 251 

Priestley,  Joseph, 253 

"  Redman,  John, 256 

Tennent,  William, 258 

Walton,  George, : 261 

Williams,  Roger, 263 

Winthrop,  John, 265 


MAJOR    GENERAL    ETHAN    ALLEN. 

THIS  sturdy  patriot,  whom  British  gold  could  not  tempt,  nor  British  prisons 
subdue,  —  the  rough,  but  brave,  uneducated,  but  sagacious  Yankee,  ~~  was  born 
in  Salisbury,  Connecticut,  and,  when  a  mere  child,  emigrated  with  his  parents  to 
Vermont.  In  the  famous  controversy  between  New  York  and  Vermont,  which  pre- 
ceded the  Revolution  a  few  years,  he  became  the  leader  of  that  band  of  fearless 
spirits  called  "  The  Green  Mountain  Boys ; "  and,  although  the  government  of  New 
York  set  a  price  upon  his  head,  he  not  only  escaped  capture,  but  won  the  victory  in 
several  skirmishes  with  the  government  troops. 

When,  however,  the  contest  for  American  independence  opened  on  the  plains  of 
Lexington  and  Concord,  forgetting  all  private  and  lesser  feuds,  he  devoted  himself 
'to  the  cause  of  his  country.  Opportunity  was  not  long  wanting  for  the  demonstra- 
tion of  his  patriotism.  A  plan  had  been  formed  by  some  gentlemen  in  Connecticut 
for  surprising  and  reducing  Forts  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point.  They  communi- 
cated the  project  to  Colonel  Allen,  and  proposed  that  he  should  take  command  of 
the  expedition.  Nothing  could  have  been  more  consonant  to  his  wild  and  daring 
spirit,  and  he  readily  embraced  the  proposition.  Speedily  collecting  two  hundred 
and  thirty  of  his  hardy  Green  Mountain  Boys,  he  marched  to  Castleton.  Here, 
unexpectedly,  he  met  Colonel  Arnold,  who  had  been  commissioned  by  the  Massa- 
chusetts committee  to  raise  four  hundred  men  for  the  same  purpose.  Having  failed 
to  raise  the  men,  Arnold  joined  the  expedition  of  Allen,  and  they  proceeded  on 
their  way,  reaching  the  shores  of  Champlain,  opposite  Ticonderoga,  on  the  evening 
of  the  9th  of  May,  1775.  With  great  difficulty  boats  enough  were  obtained  to 
transport  eighty-three  of  his  men  at  a  time.  These  were  at  length  landed  on  the 
shore  near  the  garrison ;  but  as  the  day  began  to  dawn,  it  would  not  do  to  await  the 
coming  of  the  rear,  and  Colonel  Allen  determined  to  accomplish  by  surprise  what 
he  knew  he  could  not  do  by  force."  Nor  were  his  troops  a  whit  behind.  Stealthily, 
and  with  the  utmost  caution,  they  crept  to  the  gate,  where  a  sentry  snapped  his  gun 
in  the  very  face  of  Allen,  and  then  retreated  through  the  gate.  So  closely  was  he 
followed  by  the  brave  leader  of  this  brave  band,  that  he  could  not  close  the  gate 
until  they  were  formed  inside,  ready  for  action.  Three  hearty  hurrahs  awakened  the 
garrison,  and  the  disarmed  sentry  pointing  to  the  room  where  the  commander,  Cap- 
tain De  La  Place,  was  still  wrapped  in  profound  slumber,  Colonel  Allen  rushed  to  his 
bedside,  and  greeted  the  astonished  commandant  with  the  sight  of  a  glittering  sword, 
and  a  sudden  summons  to  surrender  the  fort.  "  In  whose  authority  do  you  make 
this  demand  ?  "  inquired  the  astounded  officer.  "  I  demand  it,"  replied  Allen,  in  a 
voice  of  thunder,  "  in  the  name  of  the  great  Jehovah  and  the  Continental  Congress." 
Seeing  the  folly  of  resistance,  the  fort,  with  all  its  valuable  stores  and  munitions  of 
war,  was  instantly  surrendered.  Crown  Point  was  taken  the  same  day,  and  soon 
after,  a  sloop  of  war  falling  into  his  hands,  Allen  was  left  complete  master  of  the 
lake  and  the  surrounding  country. 


218  MAJOR    GENERAL    ETHAN     ALLEN 

In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year,  he  was  sent  on  a  mission  of  conciliation  to  the 
people  of  Canada,  with  small  success,  we  believe.  While  there,  he  met  Colonel 
Brown,  who  proposed  to  him  an  attack  on  Montreal.  There  was  just  enough  of  ro- 
mance and  impossibility  in  the  mad  plan  to  jump  with  his  dare-devil  spirit,  and  he 
eagerly  made  arrangements  with  Brown  to  carry  the  scheme  into  execution.  On  the 
night  appointed,  Allen  was  at  his  post,  with  a  force  of  one  hundred  and  ten  men,  but 
the  promised  aid  of  Brown  was  not  forthcoming.  At  break  of  day,  he  was  attacked 
with  a  force  six  times  greater  than  his  own,  and,  after  a  stubborn  resistance,  he  sur- 
rendered ;  but  not  until  after  he  had  made  good  his  retreat  for  a  mile,  and  his  force 
was  reduced  to  thirty-one  men. 

This  ended  the  military  career  of  Colonel  Allen.  He  had  been  too  formidable 
an  enemy  not  to  be  looked  after  with  the  greatest  care.  He  was  heavily  ironed, 
and  treated  with  unnecessary  cruelty.  He  was  sent  to  England,  with  the  com- 
fortable assurance  that  the  gallows  awaited  his  arrival.  For  some  reason,  he  was 
kept  in  England  but  a  short  month,  when  he  was  sent  to  Halifax,  and,  after  staying 
here  in  prison  from  June  until  October,  he  was  removed  to  New  York.  After  re- 
maining in  easy  confinement  for  the  space  of  a  year  or  more,  he  was  exchanged,  and 
returned  to  his  home,  where  he  was  received  with  every  demonstration  of  joy  and 
respect,  and  was  immediately  commissioned  as  major  general  of  the  militia  of  the 
State  of  Vermont.  It  was  during  this  period  that  the  British  tried  to  bribe  him  to 
make  over  Vermont  to  Canada  —  a  bribe  which  he  spurned  in  such  terms  as  to  make 
the  cheeks  of  his  corrupters  tingle  with  shame.  But  the  old  soldier's  labors  were 
over,  and  he  died  suddenly,  at  his  estate  in  Colchester,  February  13,  1789 


WILLIAM  BARTRAM. 

WILLIAM  BARTKAM,  F.  R.  S.,  an  eminent  botanist,  was  born  near  the  city 
of  Philadelphia,  April  20,  1739.     From  his  childhood  he  had  a  taste  for  ob- 
serving and  collecting  plants,  and  when  only  eleven  years  of  age,  volunteered  to  ac- 
company his  father  in  one  of  his  tours  through  the  uninhabited  parts  of  the  Southern 
States,  in  search  of  nondescript  vegetable  productions  and  fossils. 

After  his  return  to  Pennsylvania,  he  was  sent  to  the  college  of  Philadelphia,  where 
he  diligently  pursued  his  studies  until  his  sixteenth  year,  at  which  time  he  was  placed 
with  a  merchant.  He  soon,  however,  abandoned  mercantile  pursuits  for  others  more 
congenial  to  his  mind.  Botany  and  natural  history  were  his  favorite  studies,  and  in 
these  he  soon  made  great  proficiency,  insomuch,  that  in  a  few  years  his  fame  had 
reached  the  continent,  and  spread  throughout  Europe. 

The  important  discoveries  he  made  had  no  sooner  reached  England,  than  he  was 
employed  by  Dr.  Fothergill,  and  several  other  eminent  naturalists,  to  make  a  tour  of 
discovery  through  the  Carolinas,  Georgia,  and  the  Floridas,  and  to  communicate  to 
them  whatever  was  new  and  interesting  in  natural  science.  The  result  of  these  trav- 
els, so  creditable  to  his  eminent  acquirements,  he  afterwards  published  in  a  thick 
octavo  volume. 

Mr.  Bartram  now  retired  to  the  enchanting  spot,  and  took  charge  of  the  celebrated 
gardens  commenced  by  his  father  on  the  Schuylkill,  near  Philadelphia.  To  these  he 
devoted  the  whole  of  his  attention,  and  year  after  year  enriched  it  with  valuable 
plants  from  both  hemispheres.  Here  he  also  pursued  his  researches  into  nature,  and 
formed,  for  future  celebrity,  the  mind  of  the  celebrated  author  of  the  American 
Ornithology. 

In  1792,  after  the  junction  of  the  two  rival  faculties  of  medicine  in  Philadelphia, 
Mr.  Bartram  was  unanimously  elected  to  the  chair  of  Botany  and  Natural  History 
in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  This  honor,  however,  he  declined,  and  it  was 
afterwards  conferred  on  the  late  eminent  naturalist,  Dr.  B.  S.  Barton. 

Mr.  Bartram  had  the  honor  of  being  a  member  of  the  American  Philosophical  So- 
ciety of  Philadelphia,  as  well  as  of  most  of  the  learned  and  scientific  societies  of 
Europe. 

Mr.  Bartram  ended  a  life  of  usefulness  and  celebrity,  and  quietly  sunk  into  the 
arms  of  death,  at  his  favorite  retreat  on  the  banks  of  the  Schuylkill,  July,  22,  1823, 
at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty-five  years. 

Besides  "  Travels  through  the  Carolinas,  Georgia,  and  the  Floridas,"  Mr.  Bartram 
published  a  "  Table  of  American  Ornithology,"  "  Tracts  and  Observations  on  Natural 
History,  and  newly  discovered  Plants  ;"  besides  numerous  communications  to  the 
American  Philosophical  Society,  which  have  been  published  in  their  "  Transactions." 

The  manuscripts  and  correspondence  of  the  father  and  son,  if  published,  would 
form  a  curious  and  interesting  volume  ;  and  we  sincerely  hope,  for  the  cause  of  sci- 
ence, their  labors  will  ere  long  be  given  to  the  world  by  some  lover  of  science. 

15 


JONATHAN  BELCHER. 

JONATHAN  BELCHER,  Governor  of  Massachusetts  and  New  Jersey,  was  the 
son  of  the  Honorable  Andrew  Belcher,  of  Cambridge,  one  of  his  majesty's 
Council  in  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  was  born  about  the  year  1618. 
His  father  took  peculiar  care  in  regard  to  the  education  of  this  son,  on  whom  the 
hopes  of  the  family  were  fixed.  He  was  graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1699. 
While  a  member  of  this  institution,  his  open  and  pleasant  conversation,  joined  with 
his  manly  and  generous  conduct,  conciliated  the  esteem  of  all  his  acquaintance.  Not 
long  after  the  termination  of  his  collegiate  course,  he  visited  Europe,  that  he  might 
enrich  his  mind  by  his  observations  upon  the  various  manners  and  characters  of  men, 
,md  might  return  furnished  with  that  useful  knowledge  which  is  gained  by  intercourse 
with  the  world. 

During  an  absence  of  six  years  from  his  native  country,  he  was  preserved  from 
hose  follies  into  which  inexperienced  youth  are  frequently  drawn,  and  he  even  main- 
rained  a  constant  regard  to  that  holy  religion  of  which  he  had  early  made  a  profes- 
sion. He  was  everywhere  treated  with  the  greatest  respect.  The  acquaintance  which 
:ie  formed  with  the  Princess  Sophia  and  her  son,  afterwards  King  George  II.,  laid 
rhe  foundation  of  his  future  honors.  After  his  return  from  his  travels,  he  lived  in 
Boston  in  the  character  of  a  merchant  with  great  reputation.  He  was  chosen  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Council,  and  the  General  Assembly  sent  him  as  an  agent  of  the  province 
'to  the  British  Court  in  tha  year  1729. 

After  the  death  of  Governor  Burnet,  he  was  appointed  by  his  majesty  to  the  gov- 
ernment of  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire  in  1T30.  In  this  station  he  continued 
eleven  years.  His  style  of  living  was  elegant  and  splendid,  and  he  was  distinguished 
tor  hospitality.  By  the  depreciation  of  the  currency  his  salary  was  much  diminished 
in  value,  but  he  disdained  any  unwarrantable  means  of  enriching  himself,  though  ap- 
parently just,  and  sanctioned  by  his  predecessors  in  office.  He  had  been  one  of  the 
principal  merchants  of  New  England,  but  he  quitted  his  business  on  his  accession  to 
the  chair  of  the  first  magistrate.  Having  a  high  sense  of  the  dignity  of  his  commis- 
sion, he  was  determined  to  support  it  even  at  the  expense  of  his  private  fortune. 
Frank  and  sincere,  he  was  extremely  liberal  in  his  censures  both  in  conversation  and 
letters.  This  imprudence  in  a  public  officer  gained  him  enemies,  who  were  deter- 
mined on  revenge.  He  also  assumed  some  authority,  which  had  not  been  exercised 
before,  though  he  did  not  exceed  his  commission.  These  causes  of  complaint,  together 
with  a  controversy  respecting  a  fixed  salary,  which  had  been  transmitted  to  him  from 
his  predecessors,  and  his  opposition  to  the  Land  Bank  Company,  finally  occasioned 
his  removal.  His  enemies  were  so  inveterate  and  so  regardless  of  justice  and  truth, 
that  as  they  were  unable  to  find  real  grounds  for  impeaching  his  integrity,  they 
forged  letters  for  the  purpose  of  his  ruin.  On  being  superseded,  he  repaired  to  court, 
where  he  vindicated  his  character  and  conduct,  and  exposed  the  base  designs  of  his 
enemies.  He  was  restored  to  the  royal  favor,  and  was  promised  the  first  vacant  gov- 


JONATHAN    BELCHER.  221 

eminent  in  America.  This  vacancy  occurred  in  the  province  of  New  Jersey,  where 
he  arrived  in  1747,  and  where  he  spent  the  remaining  years  of  his  life.  In  this  prov- 
ince his  memory  has  been  held  in  deserved  respect. 

When  he  first  arrived  in  this  province,  he  found  it  in  the  utmost  confusion  by 
tumults  and  riotous  disorders.,  which  had  for  some  time  prevailed.  This  circum- 
stance, joined  to  the  unhappy  controversy  between  the  two  branches  of  the  legisla- 
ture, rendered  the  first  part  of  his  administration  peculiarly  difficult ;  but  by  his  firm 
arid  prudent  measures  he  surmounted  the  difficulties  of  his  situation.  He  steadily  pur- 
sued the  interests  of  the  province,  endeavoring  to  distinguish  and  promote  men  of 
worth  without  partiality.  He  enlarged  the  charter  of  Princeton  College,  and  was  its 
chief  patron  and  benefactor.  Even  under  the  growing  infirmities  of  age,  he  applied 
himself,  with  his  accustomed  assiduity  and  diligence,  to  the  high  duties  of  his  office. 
He  died  at  Elizabethtown,  August  31,  1757,  aged  seventy-six  years.  His  body  was 
brought  to  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  where  it  was  entombed. 

Governor  Belcher  possessed  uncommon  gracefulness  of  person  and  dignity  of  de- 
portment. He  obeyed  the  royal  instructions  on  the  one  hand,  and  exhibited  a  real 
regard  to  the  liberties  and  happiness  of  the  people  on  the  other.  He  was  distin- 
guished by  his  unshaken  integrity,  by  his  zeal  for  justice,  and  care  to  have  it  equally 
distributed.  Neither  the  claims  of  interest,  nor  the  solicitations  of  friends,  could 
move  him  from  what  appeared  to  be  his  duty.  He  seems  to  have  possessed,  in  ad- 
dition to  his  other  accomplishments,  that  piety  whose  lustre  is  eternal.  His  religion 
was  not  a  mere  formal  thing  which  he  received  from  tradition,  or  professed  in  con- 
formity to  the  custom  of  the  country  in  which  he  lived  ;  it  was  real  and  genuine,  for 
it  impressed  his  heart  and* governed  his  life.  He  had  such  views  of  the  majesty  and 
holiness  of  God,  of  the  strictness  and  purity  of  the  divine  law,  and  of  his  own  ur 
worthiness  and  iniquity,  as  made  him  disclaim  all  dependence  on  his  own  righteous 
ness,  and  led  him  to  place  his  whole  hope  for  salvation  on  the  merits  of  the  Loru 
Jesus  Christ,  who  appeared  to  him  an  all-sufficient  and  glorious  Saviour.  He  ex- 
pressed the  humblest  sense  of  his  own  character,  and  the  most  exalted  views  of  the 
rich,  free,  and  glorious  grace  offered  in  the  Gospel  to  sinners.  His  faith  worked  by 
love,  and  produced  the  genuine  fruits  of  obedience.  It  exhibited  itself  in  a  life  of 
piety  and  devotion,  of  meekness  and  humility,  of  justice,  truth,  and  benevolence. 
He  searched  the  holy  Scriptures  with  the  greatest  diligence  and  delight.  In  his  fam- 
ily he  maintained  the  worship  of  God,  himself  reading  the  volume  of  truth,  and  ad- 
dressing in  prayer  the  Majesty  of  heaven  and  of  earth,  as  long  as  his  health  and 
strength  would  possibly  admit.  In  the  hours  of  retirement  he  held  intercourse  with 
heaven,  carefully  redeeming  time  from  the  business  of  this  world  to  attend  to  the 
more  important  concerns  of  another.  Though  there  was  nothing  ostentatious  in  his 
religion,  yet  he  was  not  ashamed  to  avow  his  attachment  to  the  Gospel  of  Christ, 
even  when  he  exposed  himself  to  ridicule  and  censure.  When  the  Rev.  Mr.  White- 
field  was  at  Boston  in  the  year  1740,  he  treated  that  eloquent  itinerant  with  the 
greatest  respect.  He  even  followed  him  as  far  as  Worcester,  and  requested  him  to 
continue  his  faithful  instructions  and  pungent  addresses  to  the  conscience,  desiring 
him  to  spa/re  neither  ministers  nor  rulers.  He  was  indeed  deeply  interested  in  the 
progress  of  holiness  and  religion.  As  he  approached  the  termination  of  his  life,  he 
often  expressed  his  desire  to  depart,  and  to  enter  the  world  of  glory. 


ANTHONY  BENEZET, 

A  NTHONY  BENEZET,  a  philanthropist  of  Philadelphia,  was  born  at  St.  Quintins, 
-<LJL  a  town  in  the  province  of  Picardy,  France,  January  31,  1713.  About  the  time 
of  his  birth  the  persecution  against  the  Protestants  was  carried  on  with  relentless 
severity,  in  consequence  of  which  many  thousands  found  it  necessary  to  leave  their 
native  country,  and  seek  a  shelter  in  foreign  lands.  Among  these  were  his  parents, 
who  removed  to  London  in  February,  1715,  and,  after  remaining  there  upwards  of 
sixteen  years,  came  to  Philadelphia  in  November,  1731.  During  their  residence 
in  Great  Britain,  they  had  imbibed  the  religious  opinions  of  the  Society  of  Friends, 
and  they  were  received  into  that  body  immediately  after  their  arrival  in  this 
country. 

In  the  early  part  of  his  life,  Benezet  was  put  an  apprentice  to  a  merchant ;  but 
soon  after  his  marriage,  in  1722,  when  his  affairs  were  in  a  prosperous  situation,  he 
left  the  mercantile  business,  that  he  might  engage  in  some  pursuit  which  was  not  so 
adapted  to  excite  or  to  promote  a  worldly  spirit,  and  which  would  afford  him  more 
leisure  for  the  duties  of  religion  and  for  the  exercise  of  that  benevolent  spirit  for 
which,  during  the  course  of  a  long  life,  he  was  so  conspicuous.  But  no  employment, 
which  accorded  perfectly  with  his  inclination,  presented  itself  till  the  year  1742, 
when  he  accepted  the  appointment  of  instructor  in  the  Friends'  English  school  of 
Philadelphia.  The  duties  of  the  honorable,  though  not  very  lucrative  office  of  a 
teacher  of  youth,  he  from  this  period  continued  to  fulfil  with  unremitting  assiduity 
and  delight,  and  with  very  little  intermission  till  his  death.  During  the  two  last 
years  of  his  life,  his  zeal  to  do  good  induced  him  to  resign  the  school  which  he  had 
long  superintended,  and  to  engage  in  the  instruction  of  the  blacks.  In  doing  this  he 
did  not  consult  his  worldly  interest,  but  was  influenced  by  a  regard  to  the  welfare  of 
that  miserable  class  of  beings  whose  minds  had  been  debased  by  servitude.  He 
wished  to  contribute  something  towards  rendering  them  fit  for  the  enjoyment  of  that 
freedom  to  which  many  of  them  had  been  restored. 

So  great  was  his  sympathy  with  every  being  capable  of  feeling  pain,  that  he  re- 
solved, towards  the  close  of  his  life,  to  eat  no  animal  food.  This  change  in  his  mode 
of  living  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  occasion  of  his  death.  His  active  mind  did 
not  yield  to  the  debility  of  his  body.  He  persevered  in  his  attendance  upon  his 
school  till  within  a  few  days  of  his  decease.  He  died  May  3,  1784,  in  the  severity- 
second  year  of  his  age. 

Such  was  the  general  esteem  in  which  he  was  held,  that  his  funeral  was  attended 
by  persons  of  all  religious  denominations.  Many  hundred  negroes  followed  their 
friend  and  benefactor  to  the  grave,  and  by  their  tears  they  proved  that  they  possessed 


ANTHONY    BENEZET.  223 

the  sensibility  of  men.  An  officer,  who  had  served  in  the  army  during  the  war  with 
Great  Britain,  observed  at  this  time :  "  I  would  rather  be  Anthony  Benezet  in  that 
coffin,  than  George  Washington,  with  all  his  fame." 

He  exhibited  uncommon  activity  and  industry  in  every  thing  which  he  undertook. 
He  used  to  say  that  the  highest  act  of  charity  was  to  bear  with  the  unreasonableness 
of  mankind.  He  generally  wore  plush  clothes,  and  gave  as  a  reason  for  it  that,  after 
he  had  worn  them  for  two  or  three  years,  they  made  comfortable  and  decent  gar- 
ments for  the  poor.  So  disposed  was  he  to  make  himself  contented  in  every  situati  jn, 
that  when  his  memory  began  to  fail  him,  instead  of  lamenting  the  decay  of  his  pow- 
ers, he  said  to  a  young  friend,  "This  gives  me  one  great  advantage  over  you,  for  you 
can  find  entertainment  in  reading  a  good  book  only  once,  but  I  enjoy  that  pleasure 
as  often  as  I  read  it,  for  it  is  always  new  to  me."  Few  men,  since  the  days  of  the 
apostles,  ever  lived  a  more  disinterested  life ;  yet,  upon  his  death-bed,  he  expressed 
his  desire  to  live  a  little  longer,  "  that  he  might  bring  down  self"  The  last  time  he 
ever  walked  across  his  room  was  to  take  from  his  desk  six  dollars,  which  he  gave  to 
a  poor  widow  whom  he  had  long  assisted  to  maintain.  In  his  conversation,  he  was 
affable  and  unreserved ;  in  his  manners,  gentle  and  conciliating.  For  the  acquisition 
of  wealth  he  wanted  neither  abilities  nor  opportunity;  but  he  made  himself  contented 
with  a  little,  and  with  a  competency  he  was  liberal  beyond  most  of  those  whom  a 
bountiful  Providence  had  incumbered  with  riches.  By  his  will  he  devised  his 
estate,  after  the  decease  of  his  wife,  to  certain  trustees,  for  the  use  of  the  African 
school. 

During  the  time  the  British  army  was  in  possession  of  Philadelphia  he  was  inde- 
fatigable in  his  endeavors  to  render  the  situation  of  the  persons  who  suffered  from 
captivity  as  easy  as  possible.  He  knew  no  fear  in  the  presence  of  a  fellow-man,  how- 
ever dignified  by  titles  or  station ;  and  such  was  the  propriety  and  gentleness  of  his 
manners  in  his  intercourse  with  the  gentlemen  who  commanded  the  British  and  Ger- 
man troops,  that  when  he  could  not  obtain  the  object  of  his  requests,  he  never  failed 
to  secure  their  civilities  and  esteem. 

Though  the  life  of  Mr.  Benezet  was  passed  in  the  instruction  of  youth,  yet  his  ex- 
pansive benevolence  extended  itself  to  a  wider  sphere  of  usefulness.  Giving  but  a 
small  portion  of  his  time  to  sleep,  he  employed  his  pen  both  day  and  night  in  writing 
books  on  religious  subjects,  composed  chiefly  with  a  view  to  inculcate  the  peaceable 
temper  and  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  in  opposition  to  the  spirit  of  war,  and  to  expose 
the  flagrant  injustice  of  slavery,  and  fix  the  stamp  of  infamy  on  the  traffic  in  human 
blood.  His  writings  contributed  much  towards  meliorating  the  condition  of  slaves, 
and  undoubtedly  had  influence  on  the  public  mind  in  effecting  the  complete  prohibi- 
tion of  that  trade,  which,  until  the  year  1808,  was  a  blot  on  the  American  national 
character. 

To  disseminate  his  publications  and  increase  his  usefulness,  he  held  a  correspond- 
ence with  such  persons  in  various  parts  of  Europe  and  America  as  united  with  him 
in  the  same  benevolent  design,  or  would  be  likely  to  promote  the  objects  which  he 
was  pursuing.  ~No  ambitious  or  covetous  views  impelled  him  to  his  exertions. 
Kegarding  all  mankind  as  children  of  one  common  Father,  and  members  of  one  great 
family,  he  was  anxious  that  oppression  and  tyranny  should  cease,  and  that  men 
should  live  together  in  mutual  kindness  and  affection.  He  himself  respected,  and  he 


ANTHONY   BENEZET. 

wished  others  to  respect  the  sacred  injunction,  "  Do  unto  others  as  you  would  that 
they  should  do  unto  you." 

On  the  return  of  peace,  in  1783,  apprehending  that  the  revival  of  commerce  would 
be  likely  to  renew  the  African  slave-trade,  which  during  the  war  had  been  in  some 
measure  obstructed,  he  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain  to  solicit  her 
influence  on  the  side  of  humanity.  At  the  close  of  this  letter  he  says  :  "  I  hope  thou 
wilt  kindly  excuse  the  freedom  used  on  this  occasion  by  an  ancient  man,  whose 
mild,  for  more  than  forty  years  past,  has  been  much  separated  from  the  common 
course  of  the  world,  and  long  painfully  exercised  in  the  consideration  of  the  miseries 
under  which  so  large  a  part  of  mankind,  equally  with  us  the  objects  of  redeeming 
love,  are  suifering  the  most  unjust  and  grievous  oppression,  and  who  sincerely  desires 
the  temporal  and  eternal  felicity  of  the  queen  and  her  royal  consort." 

He  published,  among  other  tracts,  "  A  Caution  to  Great  Britain  and  her  Colonies," 
in  a  short  representation  of  the  calamitous  state  of  the  enslaved  negroes  in  the  British 
dominions,  1767 — "Some  Historical  Account  of  Guinea,"  with  an  inquiry  into  the 
rise  and  progress  of  the  slave-trade,  1771 — "  Observations  on  the  Indian  Natives  of 
this  Continent,"  1784. 


ELDER  WILLIAM  BREWSTER. 

THIS  worthy  Puritan,  than  whom  among  all  the  band  of  early  pilgrims  to  New 
England,  none  were  more  devout  or  more  beloved,  came  over  to  this  country  ii 
the  May  Flower,  in  company  with  Carver,  Bradford,  and  Winslow.  It  is  not  known 
where  he  has  born,  but  it  was  in  the  year  1560.  lie  was  partially  educated  at  Cam- 
bridge, from  which  place  he  was  called  to  engage  in  the  service  of  Davison,  Secretary 
of  State  to  Queen  Elizabeth.  He  discharged  the  duties  of  his  office  with  great  dis- 
cretion and  success,  and  received  the  approval  of  his  sovereign  and  his  master,  be- 
tween whom  and  himself  there  existed  a  most  intimate  friendship.  In  the  disgrace 
and  loss  of  property  which  befel  Davison,  he  found  the  friendship  of  Brewster  no 
summer  flower.  He  gave  him  his  sympathy,  counsel,  and  purse,  for  at  this  time 
Brewster  was  "  rich  in  worldlie  geare." 

After  he  quitted  the  service  of  the  court  he  retired  into  the  north  of  England,  and 
gave  himself  to  the  study  of  theology,  and  being  dissatisfied  with  the  Church,  he 
withdrew,  and  joined  with  others  in  forming  the  church  of  which  Robinson  became 
pastor.  lie  went  with  them  to  Leyden,  and  was  there  chosen  ruling  elder  in  the 
church.  He  had  suffered,  meanwhile,  many  reverses,  and  his  ample  patrimony  had 
dwindled  away,  so  that  he  became  the  needy  recipient  of  others'  bounty.  When  the 
church  separated  he  joined  the  minority,  and  came  with  them  to  Plymouth,  where  lie 
exercised  his  functions  of  "  ruling  elder"  until  the  time  of  his  death  in  1644.  He  had 
repeatedly  been  solicited  to  receive  ordination  and  assume  the  pastoral  office,  but  he 
always  declined,  from  a  modest  consciousness  of  his  unfitness  for  that  sacred  office. 
He  combined  in  his  character,  in  a  remarkable  degree,  gentleness  and  firmness  ;  a 
woman's  tenderness  for  others,  and  heroic  endurance  for  himself.  Brought  up  in  lux- 
ury, accustomed  to  courts  and  the  most  refined  society,  he  submitted  to  the  hardy  and 
trying  life  appointed  him  with  a  most  cheerful  spirit,  and  shared  his  "  dish  of  clams,'' 
which  constituted  almost  his  living,  with  those  as  needy  as  himself;  grateful  even  in 
his  greatest  necessity  ;  thanking  God,  in  his  daily  grace  at  meat,  "  that  he  could  suck 
of  the  abundance  of  the  sea,  and  of  the  treasure  hid  in  the  sands." 

Secretary  Morton,  in  a  memoir  inserted  in  "  the  records  of  the  First  Church,"  thus 
speaks  of  this  extraordinary  and  godly  man : 

"  For  his  personal  abilities  he  was  qualified  above  many.  He  was  wise,  discreet, 
and  well-spoken ;  having  a  grave,  deliberate  utterance ;  of  a  very  cheerful  spirit ; 
very  sociable  and  pleasant  among  his  friends  ;  of  an  humble  and  modest  mind ;  of  a 
peaceable  disposition;  undervaluing  himself  and  his  own  abilities;  inoffensive  and 
innocent  in  his  life  and  conversation,  which  gained  him  the  love  of  those  without  as 
well  as  of  those  within.  Yet  he  would  tell  them  of  their  faults  both  privately  and 
publicly,  but  in  such  a  manner  as  usually  was  well  taken  from  him.  lie  was  tender- 


226  ELDER    WILLIAM   BREWSTER. 

hearted  and  compassionate  of  such  as  were  in  misery,  but  especially  of  such  as  had 
been  of  good  estate  or  rank  and  were  fallen  into  want  and  poverty,  either  for  good- 
ness' or  religion's  sake,  or  by  the  injury  or  oppression  of  others. 

"  In  teaching  he  was  very  stirring,  moving  the  affections  ;  also  very  plain  and  dis- 
tinct in  what  he  taught ;  by  which  means  he  became  more  profitable  to  his  hearers. 
He  had  a  singular  good  gift  in  prayer,  either  in  public  or  in  private,  in  bringing  up 
the  heart  and  conscience  before  God,  in  the  confession  of  sin,  and  begging  the  mer- 
cies of  God  in  Christ  for  the  pardon  thereof." 

He  had  no  deceit  in  himself,  and  held  in  utter  detestation  duplicity  and  meanness 
in  others.  He  was  also  a  Puritan  of  the  straitest  sect,  and  had  no  charity  for  those 
who  departed  from  the  reputed  standard  of  orthodoxy.  His  life  had  been  a  consistent 
and  pious  one,  and  he  beheld  the  approach  of  death  without  fear,  and  went  on  his 
last  journey 

"  like  one 

Who  wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch  about  him 

And  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams." 


LEONARD  CALVERT, 

LEONARD  CALYERT,  the  first  governor  of  Maryland,  was  the  brother  of  Ce- 
cilius  Calvert,  the  proprietor,  and  who  sent  him  to  America,  as  the  head  of 
the  colony,  in  1633.  Accompanied  by  his  brother  George,  and  about  two  hundred 
persons  of  good  families,  they  arrived  at  Point  Comfort,  in  Virginia,  February  24, 
1634.  On  the  3d  March  they  entered  the  Potomac,  and  sailed  up  about  twelve 
leagues,  and  took  possession  of  an  island,  which  he  afterwards  called  St.  Clement's. 
He  fired  here  his  cannon,  erected  a  cross,  and  took  possession  "  in  the  name  of  the 
Saviour  of  the  world,  and  of  the  king  of  England."  Thence  he  went  fifteen  leagues 
higher  to  the  Indian  town  of  Potomac,  now  called  New  Marlborough,  where  he  was 
received  in  a  friendly  manner  by  the  natives.  Thence  he  sailed  twelve  leagues  higher 
to  the  town  of  Picataway,  on  the  Maryland  side,  where  he  found  Henry  Fleet,  an 
Englishman,  who  had  resided  among  the  natives  several  years,  and  was  held  by  them 
in  great  esteem.  This  man  was  very  serviceable  as  an  interpreter.  An  interview 
having  been  procured  with  the  prince  Werowanu,  Calvert  asked  him,  whether  he 
was  willing  that  a  settlement  should  be  made  in  his  country.  He  replied,  "  I  will 
not  bid  you  go,  neither  will  I  bid  you  stay ;  but  you  may  use  your  own  discretion." 
Having  convinced  the  natives  his  designs  were  honorable  and  pacific,  the  governor, 
by  giving  a  satisfactory  consideration,  entered  into  a  contract  to  reside  in  one  part  of 
their  town,  until  the  next  harvest,  when  the  natives  should  entirely  quit  the  place. 

Thus  on  the  27th  March,  1634,  the  governor  took  peaceable  possession  of  the 
country  of  Maryland,  and  gave  to  the  town  the  name  of  St.  Mary's,  and  to  the  creek, 
on  which  it  was  situated,  the  name  of  St.  George's.  The  desire  of  rendering  justice 
to  the  natives,  by  giving  them  a  reasonable  compensation  for  their  lands,  is  a  trait  in 
the  character  of  the  first  planters  which  will  always  do  honor  to  their  memory. 

This  province  was  established  on  the  broad  foundation  of  security  to  property,  and 
of  freedom  in  religion.  Fifty  acres  of  land  were  granted  in  absolute  fee  to  every 
emigrant,  and  Christianity  was  established  without  allowing  pre-eminence  to  any 
particular  sect.  This  liberal  policy  rendered  a  Roman  Catholic  colony  an  asylum 
for  those  who  were  driven  from  New  England  by  the  persecutions  which  were  then 
experienced  from  Protestants.  After  the  civil  war  in  England,  the  parliament  as- 
sumed the  government  of  the  province,  and  appointed  a  new  governor.  Cecilius 
Calvert,  the  proprietor,  recovered  his  right  to  the  province  upon  the  restoration  of 
King  Charles  II.,  in  1660,  and  within  a  year  or  two  appointed  his  son  Charles  the 
governor.  He  died  in  1676,  covered  with  age  and  reputation,  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  son. 


JOHN  CARVER, 

FIRST  GOVERNOR  OF  THE  COLONY  OF  NEW  PLYMOUTH. 

THE  foremost  of  the  little  band  who  signed  the  Social  Compact  on  board  the  May 
Flower,  was  Deacon  John  Carver ;  and  the  first  notice  we  have  of  him,  is  in 

1617,  when  he  was  sent  to  England  in  company  with  Mr.  Robert  Cushman,  in  the 
agency  of  the  Puritans  at  Leyden,  he  being  at  that  time  deacon  of  Mr.  Robinson's 
church.     This  embassy  seems  to  have  been  the  earliest  step  of  any  importance  that 
was  taken  by  the  Leyden  congregation  towards  a  permanent  removal  to  America,  and 
had  for  its  direct  object  certain  preparatory  measures,  which  were  deemed  of  great 
importance  by  this  little  band  of  religious  exiles, — namely,  negotiations  with  the  Vir- 
ginia Company,  for  certain  grants  and  privileges,  and  the  procuration  from  the  king 
of  his  permission  to  enjoy  perfect  religious  freedom  in  the  new  country,  for  which 
they  hoped  soon  to  embark.     Negotiations  for  these  purposes  were  carried  on  in 
England,  for  a  considerable  time,  with  very  little  satisfaction  to  the  agents ;  and,  al- 
though they  did  not  make  their  unsuccessful  return  to  Holland  until  May,  in  the  year 

1618,  it  is  evident  that  Mr.  Carver,  in  the  mean  time,  passed  over  to  the  congregation 
at  Leyden,  late  in  the  year  1617,  for  advice  and  instructions  ;  Mr.  Cushman  remaining 
alone  in  England  to  prosecute  the  business  until  the  return  of  his  associate,  with  the 
views  of  their  constituents.     This  undertaking  proving  unsuccessful,  Mr.  Carver  was 
discontinued  as  Mr.  Cushman's  coadjutor  in  the  agency;  and  in  February,  1619,  the 
ruling  elder  of  the  church,  Mr.  William  Brewster  (not  Bradford,  as  commonly  stated), 
was  sent  in  his  stead,  when  Mr.  Cushman  went  over  to  England  the  second  time,  and 
succeeded  in  procuring  the  patent  which  wTas  granted  to  Mr.  John  Wincob.    However, 
when  Mr.  Cushman  was  sent  to  England  in  1620,  to  provide  the  vessel,  and  make 
other  final  arrangements  for  the  removal  to  America,  Mr.  Carver  accompanied  him, 
although  the  latter  remained  at  Southampton,  while  the  former  procured  at  London 
the  May  Flower,  and  made  the  other  necessary  arrangements  with  Mr.  Thomas  Wes- 
ton,  for  the  transportation  of  the  pilgrims  and  their  families.     "While  at  Southampton, 
Mr.  Carver  received  the  farewell  letter  from  his  beloved  pastor,  Mr.  John  Robinson, 
who  was  with  the  congregation  at  Leyden. 

On  their  arrival  in  America,  our  fathers  drew  up  and  signed  the  famous  compact, 
which  ranks  as  the  earliest  existing  essay  at  forming  a  republican  constitution  ;  and 
under  this,  Mr.  Carver  was  selected  to  be  their  first  governor.  To  this  office  he  was 
chosen  for  the  remainder  of  the  year,  which  ended  in  the  following  March ;  and  on 
the  twenty-third  day  of  that  month  he  was  re-chosen,  and  confirmed  in  the  same  office 
for  the  ensuing  civil  year.  The  duties  of  this  office  he  fulfilled  with  great  acceptation 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  about  one  fortnight  after  his  second  election. 

When  any  labor  was  to  be  performed  or  danger  to  be  encountered,  Governor  Car- 


JOHN    CARVER.  229 

ver  was  always  among  the  foremost.  He  was  one  of  the  party  who  went  in  the  shal- 
lop, on  the  sixth  of  December,  1620,  on  the  voyage  of  discovery  to  Grampus  Bay ; 
was  present  at  the  "  First  Encounter,"  and  was  also  one  of  those  who  went  on  shore 
at  Clarke's  Island,  on  Saturday,  the  ninth  day  of  December,  and  who  landed  on  the 
far-famed  rock  at  Plymouth,  on  the  ever  memorable  Monday,  the  eleventh  day  of 
December,  1620 ;  the  day  which  has  been  selected  for  celebration  as  Forefathers' 
Day,  and  which,  according  to  the  calendar  now  in  use,  happens  on  the  twTenty-first 
day  of  the  month,  the  day  of  the  winter  solstice,  and  the  shortest  in  the  year.  When 
John  Goodman  and  Peter  Browne  were  lost,  on  the  twelfth  of  January,  1620-1, 
and  were,  in  their  belief,  in  danger  of  being  destroyed  by  the  savages  and  lions,  he 
and  a  few  others  went  directly  in  search  of  them.  On  the  fourteenth  of  the  same 
month,  while  he  and  Mr.  William  Bradford  were  lying  sick  in  the  great  new  Ren- 
dezvous, where  were  deposited  the  ammunition  and  loaded  muskets,  they  barely 
escaped  with  life,  the  same  being  consumed  with  fire,  which  had  accMentally  been 
communicated  to  it  by  a  spark.  We  find  him  next,  on  the  seventh  of  March,  with 
five  others,  at  the  great  Ponds ;  and  on  the  twenty-second  of  the  same  month,  he 
made  the  first  treaty  of  peace  and  alliance  with  Massasoit.  a  great  sagamore  of  the 
natives.  Our  next  notice  of  him,  is  his  re-election  to  the  office  of  governor,  as  already 
mentioned ;  and  immediately  after  this  follows  the  account  of  his  illness  and  death. 
His  last  sickness  was  of  short  duration,  he  being  seized  with  that  species  of  apoplexy 
which,  in  advanced  life,  is  superinduced  by  great  bodily  fatigue  and  mental  exertion. 
This  happened  on  the  fifth  day  of  April,  1621,  while  he  was  in  the  field  with  the  pil- 
grims who  were  employed  in  the  domestic  labor  of  planting,  and  he  died  in  a  few 
days,  probably  debilitated  by  his  late  sickness,  and  much  oppressed  and  fatigued  by 
his  great  anxiety  and  care  in  attending  his  sick  and  dying  companions,  nearly  one- 
half  of  whom  had  gone  to  their  long  homes  before  him.  His  death  was  a  cause  of 
much  lamentation  among  the  colonists,  and  he  was  buried  by  them  in  the  best  man- 
ner possible,  and  with  as  much  solemnity  as  they  were  capable  of  performing,  with 
several  discharges  of  muskets  by  all  that  carried  arms.  His  character  is  given  in 
full,  by  Secretary  Morton,  in  the  manuscript  records  of  the  First  Church  of  Plymouth, 
in  the  following  words :  "  Before  I  pass  on,  I  may  not  omit  to  take  notice  of  the  sad 
loss  the  church  and  this  infant  Commonwealth  sustained  by  the  death  of  Mr.  John 
Carver,  who  was  one  of  the  deacons  of  the  church  in  Leyden,  and  now  had  been,  and 
was  their  first  governor ;  this  worthy  gentleman  was  one  of  singular  piety,  and  rare 
for  humility,  which  appeared  as  otherwise.  So  by  his  great  condescendency,  when 
as  this  miserable  people  were  in  great  sickness,  he  shunned  not  to  do  very  mean  ser- 
vices for  them,  yea,  the  meanest  of  them ;  he  bare  a  share,  likewise,  of  their  labors  in 
his  own  person,  according  as  their  great  necessity  required ;  who,  being  one  also  of  a 
considerable  estate,  spent  the  main  part  of  it  in  this  enterprise,  and  from  first  to  last 
approved  himself,  not  only  as  their  agent  in  the  first  transacting  of  things,  but  also 
all  along  to  the  period  of  his  life,  to  be  a  very  beneficial  instrument ;  he  deceased  in 
the  month  of  April,  in  the  year  1621,  and  now  is  reaping  the  fruit  of  his  labor  with 
the  Lord."* 

*  N.  E.  Hist.  &  Geneal.  Reg.  for  1850. 


GEORGE  CLYMER. 

EORGE  CLYMER,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  was 
vJT  born  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  year  1739.  He  had  the  misfortune  to 
lose  his  parents  at  an  early  age,  but  the  want  of  parental  protection  was  faithfully 
supplied  by  William  Coleman,  Esq.,  under  the  superintendence  of  whom  he  received 
an  excellent  education. 

On  arriving  at  a  proper  age,  his  mind  was  turned  towards  mercantile  pursuits, 
and  he  accordingly  connected  himself  in  business  w^ith  a  Mr.  Ritchie.  Mr.  Clymer's 
habits  of  study  led  him  gradually  to  abandon  mercantile  pursuits  for  those  of  politics 
and  agriculture,  as  branches  which  would  most  materially  conduce  to  the  happiness 
and  prosperity  of  his  country.  The  principles  of  Mr.  Clymer  were  stern  republican- 
ism, and  the  period  had  now  arrived  when  they  were  put  to  the  test.  He  was  among 
the  first  who  embarked  in  opposition  to  the  arbitrary  acts  and  unjust  pretensions  of 
Great  Britain.  When  conciliatory  measures  were  found  unavailing,  he  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  take  up  arms  in  defence  of  the  Colonies.  Mr.  Clymer  was  chosen  a  member 
of  the  Council  of  Safety.  On  the  29th  of  July,  1T75,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the 
first  continental  treasurers,  which  office  he  held  until  after  his  appointment  to  the 
Congress  of  '76  In  this  memorable  year,  he  put  his  seal  to  that  charter  of  independ- 
ence which  has  given  us  a  rank  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  In  1777  he  was 
re-elected  to  Congress,  and  continued  to  be  an  active  and  efficient  member  of  that 
body,  until  the  19th  May  following,  when  the  infirm  state  of  his  health  obliged  him 
to  retire. 

After  his  recovery  he  was  employed  'by  Congress  in  the  execution  of  several  im- 
portant trusts,  which  he  performed  with  great  ability  and  address. 

In  November,  1780,  he  was  for  the  third  time  elected  to  Congress ;  from  this,  until 
the  12th  November,  1782,  he  was  actively  engaged  in  the  public  service,  and  pro- 
moting its  welfare  by  every  possible  means  in  his  power. 

He  was  one  of  the  most  able  advocates  for  that  institution,  which  became  afterwards 
one  of  the  most  powerful  supports  of  the  American  cause,  the  national  bank. 

In  November,  1782,  Mr.  Clymer  having  retired  from  his  seat  in  Congress,  re- 
moved to  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  for  the  purpose  of  educating  his  sons  at  Nassau-Hall. 

This  was  a  happy  moment  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Clymer,  when  conscious  of  having 
acted  well  his  part,  amidst  the  turmoils  and  troubles  of  an  eight  years'  war,  he  could 
sit  down  in  the  bosom  of  his  family,  and  reflect  upon  the  deeds  which  he  had  done, 
and  the  happiness  which  it  had  secured  to  his  country. 

Nor  must  it  be  forgotten,  that  the  services  which  he  afterwards  rendered  to  Penn- 
sylvania, in  altering  her  penal  code  of  laws,  evidence  his  wisdom  and  the  benevolence 
of  his  mind. 


GEORGE    CLYMER  231 

As  soon  as  the  old  Articles  of  Confederation  were  found  inadequate  to  bind  the 
States  together,  a  convention  was  called  to  form  a  more  efficient  constitution  for  the 
general  government.  To  this  illustrious  assembly  Mr.  Clymer  was  called,  and  in 
which  he  afterwards  evinced  and  advocated  the  most  enlightened  and  liberal  views. 
On  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  he  was  once  more  called  to  unite  his  talents  with 
those  of  the  assembled  sages  of  the  general  legislature.  Here  he  gave  his  unquali- 
fied support  to  all  those  measures  which  contributed  so  largely  to  the  honor  and 
welfare  of  the  nation,  and  conferred  so  much  distinction  upon  the  administration  of 
Washington.  At  the  expiration  of  the  first  congressional  term  of  two  years,  he  de- 
clined a  re-election,  which  closed  his  long,  laborious,  and  able  legislative  career. 
But  he  was  not  permitted  to  remain  in  the  shade  of  private  life.  He  was  after- 
wards employed  at  the  head  of  the  excise  office,  and  lastly  in  negotiating  a  treaty 
with  the  Creek  and  Cherokee  Indians  in  Georgia. 

This  distinguished  patriot  died  at  Morrisville,  Bucks  County,  Pennsylvania,  on 
the  23d  January,  1813,  at  the  advanced  age  of  seventy-four. 

Mr.  Clymer  possessed  strong  intellects  from  nature,  which  he  improved  by  culture 
and  study.  Retired,  studious,  contemplative,  he  was  ever  adding  something  to  his 
knowledge,  and  endeavoring  to  make  that  knowledge  useful. 

His  predominant  passion  was  to  promote  every  scheme  for  the  improvement  of  his 
country,  whether  in  sciences,  agriculture,  polite  education,  the  useful  or  the  fine  arts. 

His  conversation  was  of  the  most  instructive  kind,  and  manifested  an  extensive 
knowledge  of  books  and  men. 

He  was  a  man  of  irreproachable  morals,  and  of  a  pure  heart.  In  the  domestic 
circle,  and  in  friendly  intercourse,  he  appeared  to  peculiar  advantage. 


JOHN  ELLIOT. 

JOHN  ELLIOT,  commonly  called  the  apostle  to  the  Indians,  exhibited  more  lively 
traits  of  an  extraordinary  character  than  we  find  in  most  ages  of  the  Church,  or 
in  most  Christian  Churches.  He  who  could  prefer  the  American  wilderness  to  the 
pleasant  fields  of  Europe,  was  ready  to  wander  through  this  wilderness  for  the  sake  of 
doing  good.  To  be  active  was  the  delight  of  his  soul ;  and  he  went  to  the  hovels 
which  could  not  keep  out  the  wind  and  the  rain,  where  he  labored  incessantly  among 
the  aboriginals  of  America,  though  his  popular  talents  gave  him  a  distinction  among 
the  first  divines  of  Massachusetts.  He  was  born  in  England  in  1604.  After  receiv- 
ing his  education  at  the  university  of  Cambridge,  he  was  for  some  time  the  instructor 
of  youth.  In  1631  he  arrived  in  this  country,  and  in  the  following  year  was  settled 
as  a  teacher  of  the  Church  in  Roxbury.  His  benevolent  labors  were  not  confined  to 
his  own  people.  Having  imbibed  the  true  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  his  heart  was  touched 
with  the  wretched  condition  of  the  Indians,  and  he  became  eagerly  desirous  of  making 
them  acquainted  with  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation.  There  were  at  the  time  when 
he  began  his  labors  near  twenty  tribes  of  Indians  within  the  limits  of  the  English 
planters.  The  Massachusetts  language,  in  which  he  translated  the  Bible  and  several 
practical  pieces,  serving  the  purpose  of  a  missionary ;  the  first  thing  he  did  was  to 
learn  this  language  of  the  people.  An  old  Indian,  who  could  speak  English,  was 
taken  into  his  family,  and  by  conversing  freely  with  him,  he  learnt  to  talk  it,  and 
soon  was  able  to  reduce  it  to  some  method ;  and  he  became  at  last  so  much  master 
of  it,  as  to  publish  a  grammar,  which  is  printed  in  some  editions  of  the  Indian 
Bibles. 

In  October,  1646,  he  preached  his  first  sermon  to  an  assembly  of  Indians  at 
Nonantum,  the  present  town  of  Newton.  After  the  sermon  was  finished,  he  desired 
them  to  ask  any  questions  which  they  thought  proper.  One  immediately  inquired 
whether  Jesus  Christ  could  understand  prayers  in  the  Indian  language  ?  Another, 
how  all  the  world  became  full  of  people,  if  they  were  all  once  drowned  ?  A  third 
asked,  how  could  there  be  the  image  of  God,  since  it  was  forbidden  in  the  command- 
ment? At  another  time  when  he  preached  to  them,  an  old  man  asked,  with  tears  in 
his  eyes,  whether  it  was  not  too  late  for  him  to  repent  and  turn  unto  God  ?  A  sec- 
ond, how  it  came  to  pass  that  sea  water  was  salt,  and  river  water  fresh ;  how  the 
English  came  to  differ  so  much  from  the  Indians  in  the  knowledge  of  God  and  Jesus 
Christ,  since  they  all  at  first  had  but  one  father ;  and  why,  if  the  water  is  larger  than 
the  earth,  it  does  not  overflow  the  earth  ?  It  was  his  custom  to  spend  weeks  together 
to  instruct  them  in  divine  things,  and  how  they  could  improve  their  condition  upon 
the  earth.  He  partook  with  them  their  hard  fare,  with  locks  wet  with  the  dews  of 
the  night,  and  exposed  to  attacks  from  the  beasts  of  the  forest ;  or  to  their  spears 
and  arrows  who  were  fiercer  than  wolves,  and  more  terrible  in  their  bowlings.  None 


JOHtf    ELLIOT.  233 

of  these  things  moved  him ;  like  a  brave  soldier  he  fought  the  good  fight  of  faith, 
bearing  every  suffering  with  cheerfulness,  and  every  pain  with  resignation.  They 
often  threatened  him,  when  alone  with  them  in  the  wilderness,  wTith  evil,  if  he  did 
not  desist  from  his  labors ;  but  he  was  a  man  not  to  be  shaken  in  his  purpose  by  the 
fear  of  danger.  He  said  to  them  :  "  I  am  about  the  work  of  the  great  God,  and  my 
God  is  with  me ;  so  that  I  neither  fear  you  nor  all  the  sachems  in  the  country ;  and 
do  you  touch  me  if  you  dare." 

In  his  missionary  tours  he  planted  a  number  of  churches,  and  visited  all  the 
Indians  in  Massachusetts  and  Plymouth  colonies,  pursuing  his  way  as  far  as  Cape 
Cod.  The  first  Indian  Church,  formed  after  the  manner  of  the  Congregational 
Churches  in  New  England,  was  established  at  Natick  in  1660.  Mr.  Elliot  afterwards 
administered  to  them  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper.  He  made  every  exertion  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  .the  Indian  tribes  ;  he  stimulated  many  servants  of  Jesus  to 
engage  in  the  missionary  work,  and  lived  to  see  twenty-four  aboriginal  fellow- 
preachers  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  In  1661  he  published  the  New  Testament  in  the 
Indian  language. 

He  possessed  an  influence  over  the  Indians  which  no  other  missionary  could  ob- 
tain. During  the  war  with  the  sachem  Philip,  1675,  he  appears  in  a  character  very 
interesting  to  the  community.  He  was  their  shield.  He  plead  their  cause  with  great 
firmness,  and  prevented  their  extermination  by  an  infuriate  multitude. 

After  living  eighty-six  years  in  this  world  of  trial,  the  spirit  of  this  excellent 
divine  took  its  flight  to  a  better  world,  May  20,  1690.  Few  of  his  family  were  alive 
to  lament  his  death  ;  but  he  was  lamented  by  the  whole  family  of  virtue,  and  by  all 
the  sincere  friends  of  religion.  Though  he  lived  many  years,  they  were  filled  with 
usefulness;  succeeding  generations  mentioned  his  name  with  profound  respect;  his 
labors  were  applauded  in  Europe  and  America ;  and  all  who  now  contemplate  his 
active  services,  his  benevolent  zeal,  his  prudence,  his  upright  conduct,  his  charity, 
are  ready  to  declare  his  memory  precious.  Such  a  man  will  be  handed  down  to  fu- 
ture times,  an  object  of  admiration  and  love,  and  appear  conspicuous  in  the  historic 
page,  when  distant  ages  celebrate  the  worthies  of  New  England. 

Besides  his  translation  of  the  Bible  into  the  Indian  tongue,  he  published  the 
"  Glorious  Progress  of  the  Gospel  among  the  Indians,"  &c.,  1649 — "  The  Tears  of 
Repentance,"  1653 — "  A  Further  Account  of  the  Gospel  among  the  Indians,"  1659 
— "The  Christian  Commonwealth,"  1660— "The  Jews  in  America,"  1660,  intended 
to  prove  that  the  Indians  were  descendants  of  the  Jews — "  The  Harmony  of  the 
Gospels,"  1678,  &c. 


SAMUEL  GORTON 

SAMUEL  GORTON",  the  first  settler  ot  Warwick,  Rhode  Island,  came  to  this 
country  in  1636,  and  in  a  few  years  occasioned  much  disturbance  in  the  church 
of  Boston  by  the  wild  sentiments  on  religion  which  he  advanced.  He  soon  went  to 
Plymouth,  in  which  colony  he  was  subjected  to  corporal  punishment  for  his  errors, 
and  whence  he  removed,  in  June,  1638,  to  Rhode  Island.  At  Newport  he  received 
the  same  discipline  on  account  of  his  contempt  of  the  civil  authority.  He  purchased 
some  land  near  Pawtuxet  River,  in  the  south  part  of  Providence,  in  January,  1641. 
Under  the  cover  of  this  purchase  he  encroached  upon  the  lands  of  others,  and  com- 
plaints having  been  entered  against  him  in  the  court  of  Massachusetts,  he  was  re- 
quired to  submit  himself  to  the  jurisdiction  of  that  colony,  and  to  answer  for  his 
conduct.  This  summons  he  treated  with  contempt ;  but  being  apprehensive  that  he 
was  not  in  a  place  of  safety,  he  crossed  the  river  at  the  close  of  1642,  and  with  eleven 
others  purchased  of  Miantonimoh,  the  Narraganset  sachem,  a  tract  of  land  at  Mishaw- 
omet,  for  which  he  paid  one  hundred  and  forty-four  fathoms  of  wampum.  The  deed 
was  signed  January  IT,  1643.  The  town,  of  which  he  now  laid  the  foundation,  was 
afterwards  called  Warwick.  In  May  following  he  and  his  party  were  seized  by  order 
of  the  general  court  of  Massachusetts,  and  carried  to  Boston,  where  he  was  required 
to  answer  to  the  charge  of  being  a  blasphemous  enemy  of  the  Gospel  and  its  ordi- 
nances and  of  all  civil  government.  His  ingenuity  embarrassed  the  judges,  for  while 
he  adhered  to  his  own  expressions,  which  plainly  contradicted  the  opinions  which 
were  embraced  in  Massachusetts,  he  yet,  when  examined  by  the  ministers,  professed 
a  coincidence  with  them  generally  in  their  religious  sentiments.  The  letter  which  he 
wrote  to  the  governor  before  his  seizure,  was  addressed  "  To  the  great,  honored,  idol 
gentleman  of  Massachusetts,"  and  was  filled  with  reproaches  of  the  magistrates  and 
ministers  ;  but  in  his  examination  he  declared  that  he  had  reference  only  to  the  cor- 
rupt state  of  mankind  in  general.  He  had  asserted,  that  Christ  suffered  actually 
before  he  suffered  under  Pontius  Pilate ;  but  his  meaning  was,  as  he  said  to  the  court, 
that  the  death  of  Christ  was  actual  to  the  faith  of  the  fathers.  The  ordinances,  he 
thought,  were  abolished  after  the  revelation  was  written,  and  thus  he  could  admit 
that  they  were  the  ordinances  of  Christ,  because  they  were  established  for  a  short 
time  by  him.  But  this  equivocation  did  not  avail  him.  His  opinions  were  undoubt- 
edly erroneous,  and  if  errors  are  to  be  punished  by  the  civil  magistrate,  his  punish- 
ment was  not  unjust.  All  the  magistrates  but  three  were  of  opinion  that  he  should 
be  put  to  death,  but  the  deputies  wore  in  favor  of  milder  measures.  Gorton,  with  a 
number  of  his  companions,  was  sentouced  to  imprisonment  and  hard  labor,  and  pro- 
hibited from  passing  the  limits  of  the  town  to  which  he  was  sent,  and  from  propa- 
gating his  heresies  under  pain  of  d^ta.  After  a  few  months,  dissatisfaction  of  many 
people  with  his  imprisonment,  and  other  causes,  induced  the  court  to  substitute  ban- 


SAMUEL   GORTON.  £35 

ishment  in  its  place.  In  1644  he  went  to  England,  with  a  deed  from  the  Narraganset 
Indians,  transferring  their  territory  to  the  king ;  and  he  obtained  an  order  from  Par- 
liament securing  to  him  the  peaceable  possession  of  his  lands.  He  arrived  at  Boston 
in  1648,  and  thence  proceeded  to  Shawomet,  which  he  called  Warwick,  in  honor  of 
the  Earl  of  Warwick,  who  had  given  him  much  assistance .  in  eifecting  his  object. 
Here  he  officiated  as  a  minister  and  disseminated  his  doctrines,  in  consequence  of 
which  a  large  part  of  the  descendants  of  his  followers  have  neglected  all  religion  to 
the  present  day.  He  died  after  the  year  1676  at  an  advanced  age.  Without  the 
advantages  of  education,  he  made  himself  acquainted  with  the  Hebrew  and  Greek 
languages,  that  he  might  better  understand  the  Scriptures,  though  he  had  affected  to 
despise  human  learning.  He  violently  opposed  the  Quakers,  as  their  principles  were 
hostile  to  his  antinomian  sentiments.  He  believed  that  the  sufferings  of  Christ  were 
within  his  children,  and  that  he  was  as  much  in  this  world  at  one  time  as  at  another ; 
that  all  which  is  related  of  him  is  to  be  taken  in  a  spiritual  sense  ;  that  he  was  in- 
carnate in  Adam,  and  was  the  image  of  God,  wherein  he  was  created.  He  was  zeal- 
ous for  a  pure  church,  and  represented  those  as  Pharisaical  interpreters  who  could 
establish  churches,  that  admitted  of  falling  from  God  in  whole  or  in  any  part,  as  the 
true  churches  of  Christ.  He  published  Simplicity's  Defence  against  the  Seven- 
Headed  Policy,  which  was  answered  by  Mr.  Winslow ;  Antidote  against  Pharisaical 
Teachers ;  Saltmarsh  Returned  from  the  Dead,  1655  ;  A  Glass  for  the  People  of  New 
England. — Allen's  Bwg.  Diet. 


16 


WILLIAM  HEATH. 

WILLIAM  HEATH,  a  major-general  in  the  American  army  during  the  revolu- 
tionary war,  was  born  at  Eoxbury,  Massachusetts,  about  the  year  1737. 

At  an  early  period  of  the  contest  of  the  colonies  with  Great  Britain,  he  was  an 
active  officer  of  the  militia ;  and,  in  consideration  of  his  zeal  and  patriotism  in  the 
cause  of  liberty,  he  was  appointed  by  the  Provincial  Congress,  in  1775,  a  brigadier- 
general. 

In  August,  1776,  he  was  by  Congress  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major-general  in 
the  continental  army. 

From  1777  to  1778  he  was  the  commanding  officer  of  the  Eastern  Department, 
and  on  him  was  devolved  the  arduous  and  responsible  duty  of  keeping  in  charge  the 
officers  and  troops  captured  at  Saratoga.  In  all  his  proceedings  with  these  turbulent 
captives,  he  supported  the  authority  of  Congress  and  the  honor  and  dignity  of  his 
office.  In  the  most  interesting  and  critical  circumstances  in  which  a  general  could 
possibly  be  placed,  he  uniformly  exhibited  a  prudence,  animation,  decision,  and  firm- 
ness, which  have  done  him  honor,  and  fully  justified  the  confidence  reposed  in  him. 
j[n  consideration  of  his  faithful  performance  of  this  trust,  he  was  appointed  by  Con- 
gress in  1779  a  commissioner  of  the  Board  of  War. 

iO 

In  1780  he  was  directed  by  General  Washington  to  repair  to  Rhode  Island  to 
make  arrangements  for  the  reception  of  the  French  fleet  and  army. 

In  May,  1781,  he  was  directed  by  the  commander-in-chief  to  repair  to  the  New 
England  States,  to  represent  to  their  respective  executives  the  distressing  condition 
of  our  army,  and  to  solicit  a  speedy  supply  of  provisions  and  clothing,  in  which  he 
was  successful. 

As  a  senior  major-general,  he  was  more  than  once  commander  of  the  right  wing  of 
our  army,  and  during  the  absence  of  the  commander-in-chief,  at  the  siege  of  York- 
town,  he  was  intrusted  with  the  command  of  the  main  army  posted  at  the  highlands 
and  vicinity.  On  hostilities  having  ceased  between  the  two  armies,  General  Wash- 
ington, in  1784,  addressed  a  letter  to  General  Heath,  expressing  his  thanks  for  his 
meritorious  services,  and  his  real  affection  and  esteem. 

Immediately  after  the  close  of  the  war,  General  Heath  was  called  again  into  public 
service  in  civil  life,  and  continued  to  hold  a  seat  in  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts 
till  1793,  when  he  was  appointed,  by  Governor  Hancock,  judge  of  probate  for  the 
•county  of  Norfolk.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  State  Convention  which  ratified 
the  federal  constitution. 

In  1806  he  was  elected  Lieutenant-Governor  of  Massachusetts,  but  declined  ac- 
•cepting  the  honor.  He  was  more  than  once  an  elector  of  President  and  Vice-Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States. 

He  died  at  Roxbury,  Massachusetts,  January  24,  1814,  aged  seventy-seven  years. 


WILLIAM  HOOPER, 

WILLIAM  HOOPER  was  a  native  of  Boston,  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay, 
where  he  was  born  on  the  17th  of  June,  1742. 

His  father's  name  was  also  William  Hooper.  He  was  born  in  Scotland,  in  the 
year  1702,  and  soon  after  leaving  the  university  of  Edinburgh  emigrated  to  America. 
He  settled  in  Boston,  where  he  became  connected  in  marriage  with  the  daughter  of 
Mr.  John  Dennie,  a  respectable  merchant.  Not  long  after  his  emigration,  he  was 
elected  pastor  of  Trinity  Church,  in  Boston,  in  which  office,  such  were  his  fidelity 
and  affectionate  intercourse  with  the  people  of  his  charge,  that  long  after  his  death  he 
was  remembered  by  them  with  peculiar  veneration  and  regard. 

William  Hooper,  a  biographical  notice  of  whom  we  are  now  to  give,  was  the  eldest 
of  five  children.  At  an  early  age  he  exhibited  indications  of  considerable  talent. 
Until  he  was  seven  years  old,  he  was  instructed  by  his  father ;  but  at  length  became 
a  member  of  a  free  grammar-school  in  Boston,  which  at  that  time  was  under  the  care 
of  Mr.  John  Lovell,  a  teacher  of  distinguished  eminence.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he 
entered  Harvard  university,  where  he  acquired  the  reputation  of  a  good  classical 
scholar ;  and  at  length,  in  1760,  commenced  bachelor  of  arts  with  distinguished 
honor. 

Mr.  Hooper  had  destined  his  son  for  the  ministerial  office.  But  his  inclination 
turning  towards  the  law,  he  obtained  his  father's  consent  to  pursue  the  studies  of  that 
profession  in  the  office  of  the  celebrated  James  Otis.  On  being  qualified  for  the  bar, 
he  left  the  province  of  Massachusetts  with  the  design  of  pursuing  the  practice  of  his 
profession  in  North  Carolina.  After  spending  a  year  or  two  in  that  province,  his 
father  became  exceedingly  desirous  that  he  should  return  home.  The  health  of  his 
son  had  greatly  suffered  in  consequence  of  an  excessive  application  to  the  duties  of 
his  profession.  In  addition  to  this,  the  free  manner  of  living  generally  adopted  by 
the  wealthier  inhabitants  of  the  South,  and  in  which  he  had  probably  participated, 
had  not  a  little  contributed  to  the  injury  of  his  health. 

Notwithstanding  the  wishes  of  his  father,  in  regard  to  his  favorite  son,  the  latter 
at  length,  in  the  fall  of  1767,  fixed  his  residence  permanently  in  North  Carolina, 
and  became  connected  by  marriage  with  Miss  Ann  Clark,  of  Wilmington,  in  that 
province. 

Mr.  Hooper  now  devoted  himself  with  great  zeal  to  his  professional  duties.  He 
early  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens,  and  was  highly  respected  by  his 
brethren  at  the  bar,  among  whom  he  occupied  an  enviable  rank. 

In  the  year  1773  he  was  appointed  to  represent  the  town  of  Wilmington,  in  wb* 
he  resided^  in  the  General  Assembly.     In  the  following  year  he  was  elected  to  a 


WILLIAM    HOOPER. 

in  the  same  body,  soon  after  taking  which  he  was  called  upon  to  assist  in  opposing  a 
most  tyrannical  act  of  the  British  government,  in  respect  to  the  laws  regulating  the 
courts  of  justice  in  the  province. 

The  former  laws  in  relation  to  these  courts  being  about  to  expire,  others  became 
necessary.  Accordingly,  a  bill  was  brought  forward,  the  provisions  of  which  were 
designed  to  regulate  the  courts  as  formerly.  But  the  advocates  of  the  British  gov- 
ernment took  occasion  to  introduce  a  clause  into  the  bill,  which  was  intended  to 
exempt  from  attachment  all  species  of  property  in  North  Carolina  which  belonged  to 
non-residents.  This  bill  having  passed  the  Senate,  and  been  approved  of  by  the 
Governor,  was  sent  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  where  it  met  with  a  most  spir- 
ited opposition.  In  this  opposition  Mr.  Hooper  took  the  lead.  In  strong  and  ani- 
mated language  he  set  forth  the  injustice  of  this  part  of  the  bill,  and  remonstrated 
against  its  passage  by  the  House.  In  consequence  of  the  measures  which  were  pur- 
sued by  the  respective  houses  composing  the  General  Assembly,  the  province  was 
left  for  more  than  a  year  without  a  single  court  of  law.  Personally,  to  Mr.  Hooper 
the  issue  of  this  business  was  highly  injurious,  since  he  was  thus  deprived  of  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  upon  which  he  depended  for  his  support.  Conscious,  how- 
ever, of  having  discharged  his  duty,  he  bowed  in  submission  to  the  pecuniary  sacri- 
fices to  which  he  was  thus  called,  preferring  honorable  poverty  to  the  greatest  pecu- 
niary acquisitions,  if  the  latter  must  be  made  at  the  expense  of  principle. 

On  the  twenty-fifth  of  August,  1774,  Mr.  Hooper  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the 
General  Congress,  to  be  held  at  Philadelphia.  Soon  after  taking  his  seat  in  this 
body,  he  was  placed  upon  several  important  committees,  and,  when  occasion  required, 
took  a  share  in  the  animated  discussions  which  were  had  on  the  various  important 
subjects  which  came  before  them.  On  one  occasion,  and  the  first  on  which  he  ad- 
dressed the  House,  it  is  said,  that  he  so  entirely  riveted  the  attention  of  the  members 
by  his  bold  and  animated  language,  that  many  expressed  their  wonder  that  such  elo- 
quence should  flow  forth  from  a  member  from  North  Carolina. 

In  the  following  year  Mr.  Hooper  was  again  appointed  a  delegate  to  serve  in  the 
Second  General  Congress,  during  whose  session  he  was  selected  as  the  chairman  of  a 
committee  appointed  to  report  an  address  to  the  inhabitants  of  Jamaica.  The  draught 
was  the  production  of  his  pen.  It  was  characterized  for  great  boldness,  and  was 
eminently  adapted  to  produce  a  strong  impression  upon  the  people  for  whom  it  was 
designed.  In  conclusion  of  the  address,  Mr.  Hooper  used  the  following  bold  and 
animated  language : 

"  That  our  petitions  have  been  treated  with  disdain,  is  now  become  the  smallest 
part  of  our  complaint :  ministerial  insolence  is  lost  in  ministerial  barbarity.  It  has, 
by  an  exertion  peculiarly  ingenious,  procured  those  very  measures  which  it  laid  us 
under  the  hard  necessity  of  pursuing,  to  be  stigmatized  in  parliament  as  rebellious: 
it  has  employed  additional  fleets  and  armies  for  the  infamous  purpose  of  compelling 
us  to  abandon  them :  it  has  plunged  us  in  all  the  horrors  and  calamities  of  a  civil 
war :  it  has  caused  the  treasure  and  blood  of  Britons  (formerly  shed  and  expended 
for  far  other  ends),  to  be  spilt  and  wasted  in  the  execrable  design  of  spreading  slav- 
ery over  British  America.  It  will  not,  however,  accomplish  its  aim  ;  in  the  worst 
of  contingencies  a  choice  will  still  be  left,  which  it  never  can  prevent  us  from 
making." 


WILLIAM    HOOPER.  239 

Iii  January,  1776,  Mr.  Hooper  was  appointed,  with  Dr.  Franklin  and  Mr.  Liv- 
ingston, a  committee  to  report  to  Congress  a  proper  method  of  honoring  the  memory 
of  General  Montgomery,  who  had  then  recently  fallen  beneath  the  walls  of  Quebec. 
This  committee,  in  their  report,  recommended  the  erection  of  a  monument,  which, 
while  it  expressed  the  respect  and  affection  of  the  colonies,  might  record,  for  the 
benefit  of  future  ages,  the  patriotic  zeal  and  fidelity,  enterprise  and  perseverance  of 
the  hero,  whose  memory  the  monument  was  designed  to  celebrate.  In  compliance 
with  the  recommendation  of  this  committee,  a  monument  was  afterwards  erected  by 
Congress  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

In  the  spring,  1776,  the  private  business  of  Mr.  Hooper  so  greatly  required  his 
attention  in  North  Carolina,  that  he  did  not  attend  upon  the  sitting  of  Congress.  He 
returned,  however,  in  season  to  share  in  the  honor  of  passing  and  publishing  to  the 
world  the  immortal  Declaration  of  Independence. 

On  the  twentieth  of  December,  1776,  he  was  elected  a  delegate  to  Congress  for 
the  third  time.  The  embarrassed  situation  of  his  private  affairs,  however,  rendered 
his  longer  absence  from  Carolina  inconsistent  with  his  interests.  Accordingly,  in 
February,  1777,  he  relinquished  his  seat  in  Congress,  and  not  long  after  tendered  to 
the  General  Assembly  his  resignation  of  the  important  trust. 

But  although  he  found  it  necessary  to  retire  from  this  particular  sphere  of  action, 
he  was,  nevertheless,  usefully  employed  in  Carolina.  He  was  an  ardent  friend  to  his 
country,  zealously  attached  to  her  rights,  and  ready  to  make  every  required  personal 
sacrifice  for  her  good.  Nor  like  many  other  patriots  of  the  day,  did  he  allow  himself 
to  indulge  in  despondency.  While  to  others  the  prospect  appeared  dubious,  he  would 
always  point  to  some  brighter  spots  on  the  canvas,  and  upon  these  he  delighted  to 
dwell. 

In  1786  Mr.  Hooper  was  appointed  by  Congress  one  of  the  judges  of  a  federal 
court,  which  was  formed  for  the  purpose  of  settling  a  controversy  which  existed  be- 
tween the  States  of  New  York  and  Massachusetts,  in  regard  to  certain  lands,  the 
jurisdiction  of  which  each  pretended  to  claim.  The  point  at  issue  was  of  great  im- 
portance, not  only  as  it  related  to  a  considerable  extent  of  territory,  but  in  respect  of 
the  people  of  these  two  States,  among  whom  great  excitement  prevailed  on  the  sub- 
ject. Fortunately,  the  respective  parties  themselves  appointed  commissioners  to 
settle  the  dispute,  which  was  at  length  amicably  done,  and  the  above  federal  court 
were  saved  a  most  difficult  and  delicate  duty. 

In  the  following  year,  the  constitutional  infirmities  of  Mr.  Hooper  increasing,  his 
health  became  considerably  impaired.  He  now  gradually  relaxed  from  public  and 
professional  exertions,  and  in  a  short  time  sought  repose  in  retirement,  which  he 
greatly  coveted.  In  the  month  of  October,  1790,  at  the  early  age  of  forty-eight  years, 
he  was  called  to  exchange  worlds. 

As  a  politician,  Mr.  Hooper  was  characterized  for  judgment,  ardor,  and  constancy. 
In  times  of  the  greatest  political  difficulty  and  danger,  he  was  calm,  but  resolute. 
He  never  desponded ;  but,  trusting  to  the  justice  of  his  country's  cause,  he  had  an 
unshaken  confidence  that  Heaven  would  protect  and  deliver  her. — Lives  of  the 
Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 


SAMUEL  JOHNSON,  D,D, 

SAMUEL  JOHNSON,  D.  D.,  first  president  of  King's  College,  New  York,  was 
born  in  Guilford,  Connecticut,  October  14, 1696*  He  early  felt  an  unconquerable 
desire  for  the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  and  was  graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1714. 
In-the  succeeding  year  the  ignorance  and  incapacity  of  the  instructors  of  the  seminary 
at  Saybrook  induced  the  students  to  abandon  it.  Some  of  them  went  to  Wethersfield, 
where  a  school  was  established  under  the  care  of  Messrs.  Williams  and  Smith ;  and 
some  of  them  put  themselves  under  the  tuition  of  Mr.  Johnson  at' Guilford.  In  Octo- 
ber, 1716,  the  trustees  and  general  court  directed  the  college  to  be  removed  to  New 
Haven,  and  Mr.  Johnson  was  chosen  one  of  the  tutors.  The  first  commencement  in 
New  Haven  was  held  in  September,  1717,  and  Mr.  Andrew,  of  Milford,  officiated  as 
rector,  and  on  the  same  day  degrees  were  conferred  at  Wethersfield.  There  was  a 
party  who  wished  to  have  the  college  established  in  this  last  place ;  but  the  General 
Assembly  required  all  the  scholars  to  repair  to  New  Haven.  They  complied  at  first, 
but  soon  returned.  The  affair  was  settled  by  an  agreement  on  the  part  of  the  As- 
sembly to  confirm  the  degrees  which  had  been  conferred  at  Wethersfield,  and  to  build 
a  state-house  in  the  neighboring  town  of  Hartford  at  the  public  expense.  Mr.  John- 
son continued  as  tutor  at  the  college  till  March  20,  1720,  when  he  was  ordained  the 
minister  of  West  Haven.  Having  an  aversion  to  extemporary  performances,  it  was 
his  practice  to  use  forms  of  prayer,  and  to  write  only  one  sermon  in  a  month.  He 
usually  preached  the  discourses  of  others,  minuting  down  only  the  heads,  and  ex- 
pressing himself,  when  his  remembrance  of  the  words  of  the  author  failed  him,  in 
language  of  his  own.  Having  embraced  the  Arminian  doctrines,  and  by  close  exam- 
ination having  become  a  convert  to  the  Episcopalian  worship  and  church  government, 
he  resigned  his  charge  at  West  Haven,  and  embarked  at  Boston  with  President  Cut- 
ler for  England,  November  5,  1722.  Having  received  ordination  as  a  missionary  for 
Stratford,  Connecticut,  he  arrived  at  that  place  in  November,  1723.  His  predecessor 
and  friend,  Mr.  Pigot,  was  immediately  removed  to  Providence.  Mr.  Johnson  was 
now  the  only  Episcopalian  minister  in  Connecticut,  and  there  were  but  few  families 
of  the  English  church  in  the  colony.  They  were  not  increased  in  Stratford  by  means 
of  his  labors,  but  in  the  neighboring  towns,  where  he  sometimes  officiated,  many  fam- 
ilies conformed.  The  desire  of  escaping  the  congregational  tax,  by  joining  a  church 
whose  minister  received  a  salary  from  a  foreign  society,  and  the  petty  quarrels  which 
exist  in  most  congregations,  were  causes,  according  to  Mr.  Hobart,  of  no  inconsider- 
able influence  in  multiplying  the  Episcopalians  in  Connecticut.  Between  the  years 
1725  and  1736  Mr.  Johnson  was  engaged  in  a  controversy  on  the  subject  of  episco- 
pacy with  Mr.  Dickinson,  Mr.  Foxcroft,  and  Mr.  Graham.  Entering  on  a  new  course 
of  studies,  he  procured  the  works  of  Mr.  John  Hutchinson,  and  embraced  many  of 
his  sentiments.  He  regarded  him  as  a  person  of  a  stupendous  genius,  little  inferior 


SAMUEL   JOHNSON,  D.D.  241 

even  to  that  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  whose  principles  he  opposed;  and  he  thought,  that 
in  his  writings  he  had  discovered  many  important,  ancient  truths,  had  effectually 
confuted  the  Jews,  infidels,  Arians,  and  heretics  of  other  denominations,  and  proved 
that  the  method  of  redemption  by  Jesus  Christ  was  better  understood  in  the  patri- 
archal and  Mosaic  ages  than  was  generally  imagined.  In  1754  he  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  college  which  had  been  lately  instituted  at  New  York.  He  went  to  that 
place  in  April  and  soon  commenced  his  labors.  The  charter  was  procured  October 
31,  1754.  In  March,  1763,  he  resigned,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Myles 
Cooper.  He  passed  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  the  peaceful  retreat  of  Stratford, 
resuming  his  former  charge,  and  continuing  in  the  ministry  till  his  death,  January  6, 
1772,  in  the  seventy-sixth  year  of  his  age. 

Dr.  Johnson  was  in  his  person  rather  tall,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life  consid- 
erably corpulent.  While  his  countenance  was  majestic  there  was  also  something  in 
it  which  was  pleasing  and  familiar.  He  was  Happy  in  a  calmness  of  temper  which 
was  seldom  discomposed.  Those  who  knew  him  generally  loved  and  revered  him. 
The  same  good  disposition,  which  rendered  him  amiable  in  private  life,  marked  all 
his  proceedings  of  a  public  nature,  and  may  be  discovered  in  his  controversial  writ- 
ings. Benevolence  was  a  conspicuous  trait  in  his  character.  He  seldom  suffered  a 
day  to  pass  without  doing  to  others  some  good  offices  relating  to  their  temporal  or 
spiritual  affairs.  His  conversation  was  enlivened  by  the  natural  cheerfulness  of  his 
disposition,  yet  in  his  freest  discourse  he  retained  a  respect  to  his  character  as  a  cler- 
gyman. He  possessed  a  quick  perception  and  sound  judgment,  and  by  incessant 
study  through  a  long  life  he  became  one  of  the  best  scholars  and  most  accomplished 
divines  of  which  Connecticut  can  boast.  By  his  acquaintance  with  Dean  Berkeley,  he 
became  a  convert  to  the  peculiar  metaphysical  opinions  of  that  great  man.  His  piety 
was  unmingled  with  gloom  or  melancholy,  and  he  contemplated  with  admiration  and 
gratitude  the  wonderful  plan  of  redemption  by  the  incarnation  and  sufferings  of  the 
eternal  Son  of  God.  An  account  of  his  life,  written  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Chandler,  was 
given  to  the  public  in  1805. 

He  published,  Plain  Reasons  for  conforming  to  the  Church,  1733;  two  tracts  in 
the  controversy  with  Mr.  Graham ;  A  Letter  from  Aristocles  to  Authades ;  a  defence 
of  it  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Dickinson  ;  a  System  of  Morality,  1746,  designed  to  check  the 
Progress  of  Enthusiasm  ;  a  Compendium  of  Logic,  1752 ;  a  Demonstration  of  the 
Reasonableness,  Usefulness,  and  Great  Duty  of  Prayer,  1761 ;  a  sermon  on  the  Beau- 
ties of  Holiness  in  the  Worship  of  the  Church  of  England ;  a  Short  Vindication  of  the 
Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel ;  an  English  Grammar  and  a  Catechism,  1765  ;  a 
Hebrew  Grammar,  1767 ;  this  evinced  an  accurate  acquaintance  with  that  language, 
and  it  was  reprinted  with  improvements  in  1771. — Allen's  Biog.  Diet. 


SARAH  B.  JUDSON. 

AMONG  our  portraits  may  be  found  those  of  the  first  and  third  wives  of  the 
celebrated  missionary,  Rev.  Dr.  Judson.     His  second  wife  left  behind  no  por- 
trait, and  as  we  were  desirous  to  present  the  family  group  complete,  we  have  thought 
best  to  add  a  sketch  of  her  life  in  our  supplement.    For  the  materials  of  the  following 
sketch,  we  are  indebted  to  Arabella  Stuart's  Biography  of  the  three  Mrs.  Judsons. 

Sarah  B.  Hall  was  the  eldest  of  thirteen  children.  Her  parents  were  Ralph  and 
Abiah  Hall,  who  removed  during  her  infancy  from  Alstead,  New  Hampshire,  the 
place  of  her  birth,  to  Salem,  in  the  State  of  Massachusetts.  Her  parents,  not  being 
wealthy,  she  was  early  trained  to  those  habits  of  industry,  thoughtfulness,  and  self- 
denial  which  distinguished  her  through  life. 

Gentle  and  affectionate  in  disposition,  and  persuasive  and  winning  in  manners, 
there  was  yet  an  ardor  and  enthusiasm  in  her  character,  combined  with  a  quiet  firm- 
ness and  perseverance,  that  insured  success  in  whatever  she  attempted,  and  gave 
promise  of  the  lofty  excellence  to  which  she  afterwards  attained.  All  who  have 
sketched  her  character  notice  one  peculiarity — and  it  is  one  which  commonly  attends 
high  merit — her  modest  unobtrusiveness.  She  was  very  fond  of  little  children,  and 
easily  won  their  affections  ;  but  showed  little  disposition,  even  in  childhood,  to  mingle 
in  the  sports  of  those  of  her  own  age. 

Her  early  poetical  attempts  evince  uncommon  facility  in  versification,  and  talent, 
that  if  cultivated,  might  have  placed  her  high  in  the  ranks  of  those  who  have  trod 
the  flowery  paths  of  literature :  but  hers  was  a  higher  vocation ;  and  poetry,  which 
was  the  delightful  recreation  of  her  childhood,  and  never  utterly  neglected  in  her 
riper  years,  was  never  to  her  any  thing  more  than  a  recreation.  Her  effusions  at  the 
age  of  thirteen  are  truly  remarkable,  when  we  consider  the  circumstances  under  which 
they  were  written. 

Sarah,  from  her  earliest. years,  took  great  delight  in  reading.  At  four  years,  says 
her  brother,  she  could  read  readily  in  any  common  book.  Her  rank  in  her  classes 
in  school  was  always  high,  and  her  teachers  felt  a  pleasure  in  instructing  her.  On 
one  occasion,  when  about  thirteen,  she  was  compelled  to  signify  to  the  principal  of  a 
female  seminary  that  her  circumstances  would  no  longer  permit  her  to  enjoy  its  ad- 
vantages. The  teacher,  unwilling  to  lose  a  pupil  who  was  an  honor  to  the  school, 
and  who  so  highly  appreciated  its  privileges,  remonstrated  with  her  upon  her  inten- 
tion, and  finally  prevailed  on  her  to  remain.  Soon  after  she  commenced  instructing 
a  class  of  small  children,  and  was  thus  enabled  to  keep  her  situation  in  the  seminary 
without  sacrificing  her  feelings  of  independence. 

Her  first  deep  and  decided  convictions  of  sin  seem  to  have  been  produced,  about 


SARAH   B.  JUDSON.  '243 

the  year  1820,  under  the  preaching  of  Mr.  Cornelius.  Her  struggles  of  mind  were 
fearful,  and  she  sunk  almost  to  the  verge  of  despair ;  but  hope  dawned  at  last,  and 
she  was  enabled  to  consecrate  her  whole  being  to  the  service  of  her  Maker.  She 
soon  after  united  with  the  first  Baptist  Church  in  Salem,  under  the  care  of  Dr. 
Belles. 

The  missionary  spirit  was  early  developed  in  her  heart.  Even  before  her  con- 
version, her  mind  was  often  exercised  with  sentiments  of  commiseration  for  the 
situation  of  ignorant  heathen  and  idolaters ;  and  after  that  event,  it  was  the  leading 
idea  of  her  life. 

Shortly  after  her  conversion,  says  her  brother,  she  observed  the  destitute  condi- 
tion of  the  children  in  the  neighborhood  in  which  she  resided.  With  the  assistance 
of  some  young  friends  as  teachers,  she  organized,  and  continued  through  the  favora- 
ble portions  of  the  year,  a  Sunday-school,  of  which  she  assumed  the  responsibility  of 
superintendent ;  and  at  the  usual  annual  celebrations  she,  with  her  teachers  and 
scholars,  joined  in  the  exercises  which  accompany  that  festival. 

The  strong  bias  of  her  mind  towards  a  missionary  life,  was  well  known  to  her 
mother,  who  even  remembered  with  a  tender  interest  an  incident  connected  with  it. 
Sarah  had  been  deeply  affected  by  the  death  of  Col  man,  who  in  the  midst  of  his 
labors  among  the  heathen  had  suddenly  been  called  to  his  reward.  Some  time  after- 
ward she  returned  from  an  evening  meeting,  and,  with  a  countenance  radiant  with 
joy,  announced — what  her  pastor  had  mentioned  in  the  meeting — that  a  successor  to 
Colman  had  been  found ;  a  young  man  in  Maine  named  Boardman  had  determined 
to  raise  and  bear  to  pagan  Burmah  the  standard  which  had  fallen  from  his  dying 
hand.  With  that  maternal  instinct  which  sometimes  forebodes  a  future  calamity, 
however  improbable,  her  mother  turned  away  from  her  daughter's  joyous  face,  for 
the  thought  flashed  involuntarily  through  her  mind  that  the  young  missionary  would 
seek  as  a  companion  of  his  toils  a  kindred  spirit ;  and  where  would  he  find  one  so 
congenial  as  the  lovely  being  before  her? 

Her  fears  were  realized.  Some  lines  written  by  "  the  enthusiastic  Sarah"  on  the 
death  of  Colman,  met  the  eye  of  the  "  young  man  in  Maine,"  who  was  touched  and 
interested  by  the  spirit  which  breathes  in  them,  and  did  not  rest  till  he  had  formed 
an  acquaintance  with  their  author.  This  acquaintance  was  followed  by  an  engage- 
ment ;  and  in  about  two  years  Sarah's  ardent  aspirations  were  gratified — she  was  a 
missionary  to  the  heathen. 

George  Dana  Boardrnan,  the  successor  to  Colman  before  spoken  of,  was  the  son 
of  a  Baptist  clergyman  in  Livermore,  Maine,  and  was  born  in  1801.  Though  feeble 
in  body,  he  had  an  ardent  thirst  for  knowledge,  which  often  made  him  conceal  illness 
for  fear  of  being  detained  from  school. 

When  the  news  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Judson's  fellow-missionary,  Colman,  reached 
America,  his  soul  was  filled  with  desire  to  supply  the  place  of  that  beloved  laborer 
in  the  Burman  field,  and  as  soon  as  his  engagements  allowed,  he  hastened  to  offer 
his  services  to  -the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  was  at  once  accepted  as  a  mis- 
sionary. 

On  the  3d  of  July,  1825,  the  marriage  took  place,  Miss  Hall  being  then  twenty- 
one  years  old,  and  Mr.  Boardman  twenty-four.  On  the  day  following  their  marriage 
they  left  Salem  for  the  place  of  embarkation.  They  were  to  sail  first  to  Calcutta,  and 


244'  SARAH    B.  JUDSON. 

if,  on  reaching  there,  the  troubles  in  Burmah  should  prevent  their  going  at  once  to 
that  country,  they  were  to  remain  in  Calcutta,  and  apply  themselves  to  the  acquisition 
of  the  Burman  language. 

Mrs.  Boardman,  with  her  husband,  took  her  final  leave  of  her  beloved  native  land 
on  the  16th  of  July,  1825.  From  Chitpore,  four  miles  above  Calcutta,  Mr.  Board- 
man  writes :  "  It  gives  me  much  pleasure  to  write  you  from  the  shores  of  India. 
Through  the  goodness  of  God,  we  arrived  at  Sand-Heads  on  the  23d  ult,  after  a 
voyage  of  127  days.  We  were  slow  in  our  passage  up  the  Hoogly,  and  did  not  arrive 
in  Calcutta  until  the  2d  inst.  We  had  a  very  agreeable  voyage — religious  service  at 
meals,  evening  prayers  in  the  cabin,  and,  when  the  weather  allowed,  public  worship 
in  the  steerage  on  Lord's-day  morning. 

"  At  noon,  December  2d,  we  came  on  shore,  and  were  received  very  kindly  by  the 
English  missionaries.  We  found  Mrs.  Colman  waiting  with  a  carriage  to  bring  us 
out  to  this  place.  The  cottage  we  occupy  was  formerly  the  residence  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Eustace  Carey.  Mr.  and  Mrs  Wade,  Mrs.  Colman,  Mrs.  Boardman,  and  myself, 
compose  a  very  happy  American  family.  But  we  long  to  be  laboring  in  Burmah." 

The  place  fixed  upon  as  the  seat  of  government  in  the  newly-acquired  British  ter- 
ritory in  Burmah  was  Amherst,  on  the  Martaban  river,  about  seventy-five  miles  east- 
ward of  Eangoon.  To  this  new  city  of  Amherst  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boardman  came  in  the 
spring  of  1827,  and  jpined  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wade  and  Mr.  Judson.  It  was  bitterly 
painful  to  them  to  learn  that  the  wife  of  the  latter,  that  noble  and  beloved  woman 
whose  life  had  been  preserved  as  if  by  miracle,  in  a  thousand  dangers,  and  from 
whose  society  and  intercourse  they  had  hoped  and  expected  the  greatest  pleasure  and 
profit,  was  the  tenant  of  a  lowly  grave  beneath  the  hopia-tree ;  and  even  more  imme- 
diately distressing  to  find  that  her  heart-broken  husband  was  just  about  to  consign 
to  the  same  dreary  bed  the  only  relic  remaining  to  him  of  his  once  lovely  family — 
the  sweet  little  Maria.  One  of  Mr.  Boardman's  first  labors  in  Burmah  was  to  make 
a  coffin  for  the  child  with  his  own  hands,  and  to  assist  in  its  burial.  Poor  babe ! 
"  so  closed  its  brief,  eventful  history." 

On  consultation,  it  was  determined  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wade  should  remain  in 
Amherst,  and  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boardman  should  proceed  to  Maulmain,  a  town 
twenty-five  miles  up  the  river,  which  had  sprung  into  being  in  the  same  manner  as 
Amherst,  and  was  nearly  as  populous,  and  that  Mr.  Judson  should  divide  his  time 
between  the  two  stations. 

In  pursuance  of  this  plan  Mr.  Boardman  removed  his  family,  which  had  been  in- 
creased by  the  addition  of  a  lovely  daughter,  now  about  five  months  old,  to  the  new 
city  of  Maulmain.  On  the  evening  of  May  28th  Mr.  Boardman  makes  this  entry  in 
his  journal :  "  After  nearly  two  hours  of  wanderings  without  any  certain  dwelling- 
place,  we  have  to-day  become  inhabitants  of  a  little  spot  of  earth,  and  have  entered 
a  house  which  we  call  our  earthly  home.  None  but  those  who  have  been  in  similar 
circumstances  can  conceive  the  satisfaction  we  now  enjoy."  ..."  The  population  of 
the  town  is  supposed  to  be  20,000.  One  year  ago  it  was  all  a  thick  jungle,  without 
an  inhabitant  /" 

In  accordance  with  instructions  received  from  America,  it  was  decided  that  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Boardman  should  remove  to  Tavoy.  This  city  is  situated  on  the  River 
Tavoy,  150  miles  south  of  Maulmain,  and  had  at  that  time  a  population  of  6000 


SARAH    B.   JUDSON.  245 

Burmans  and  3000  foreigners.  The  city  was  the  stronghold  of  the  religion  of  Gau- 
dama,  and  the  residence  of  two  hundred  priests. 

On  arriving  at  Tavoy  they  were  kindly  received  by  Mr.  Burney,  the  English  resi- 
dent, and  within  ten  days  from  their  arrival  had  procured  a  house  and  begun  to 
teach  inquirers  in  the  way -of  salvation. 

In  December  of  the  year  1828  Mrs.  Boardman  was  called  to  a  trial  which,  of  all 
others,  was  most  fitted  to  make  her  feel  that  every  earthly  dependence  is  at  best  but 
a  broken  reed.  Her  almost  idolized  husband,  her  guide,  her  only  human  support, 
protector,  and  companion,  was  attacked  by  that  insidious  and  incurable  malady  which 
was  destined  at  no  distant  day  to  close  his  career  of  usefulness  on  earth,  and  send 
him  early  to  his  reward.  A  copious  hemorrhage  from  the  lungs  warned  him  that  his 
time  for  earthly  labor  was  short,  and  seemed  to  increase  his  desire  to  work  while  his 
day  lasted.  As  soon  as  his  strength  was  sufficiently  restored  after  his  first  attack, 
namely,  in  February,  1829,  he  resolved  to  fulfil  his  long-cherished  intention  to  visit 
the  Karens  in  their  native  villages. 

On  the  revolt  of  Tavoy  from  the  British  rule,  Mr.  Boardman  took  his  family  again 
to  Maulmain  until  quiet  should  be  restored  to  Tavoy.  The  scenes  of  suffering  through 
which  they  were  called  to  pass  were  well  calculated  to  awe  the  stoutest  heart ;  but 
this  noble  woman  bore  all  with  true  heroic  fortitude  and  Christian  cheerfulness. 
Shortly  after  her  return  to  Tavoy  she  lost  her  second  child,  and  came  near  the  borders 
of  the  unseen  world  herself.  But  the  greatest  trial  of  her  life  was  at  hand  ;  for  in  the 
autumn  of  1830  she  committed  to  their  last  resting-place  the  mortal  remains  of  her 
loving  and  devoted  husband.  She  bore  this  calamitous  stroke  with  great  fortitude ; 
and,  on  calm  consideration,  resolved  to  remain  in  India,  and  do  what  she  could  to 
carry  on  the  work  among  the  Karens,  so  successfully  commenced  by  her  husband. 

On  the  10th  of  April,  1834,  Mrs.  Boardman  was  married  to  one  whose  character 
she  afterwards  declared  to  be  "  a  complete  assemblage  of  all  that  woman  could  wish 
to  love  and  honor,"  the  Rev.  Dr.  Judson.  With  him  she  removed  to  her  new  home 
in  Maulmain,  which  had  undergone  wonderful  changes  since  she  left  it  in  1828. 
Then,  the  only  church  there  had  three  native  members ;  now,  she  found  there  three 
churches,  numbering  two  hundred  members !  Her  duties  now  were  different  from 
what  they  had  been,  but  not  less  important. 

After  eleven  years  of  devotion  and  trial,  Mrs.  Judson,  whose  health  had  been 
gradually  failing,  resolved  on  a  voyage  across  the  Atlantic,  and,  having  reached  the 
Island  of  St.  Helena,  she  died  on  ship-board,  in  the  summer  of  1845,  aged  forty-two 
years. 

Arrangements  were  made  to  carry  the  body  on  shore.  The  Kev.  Mr.  Bertram, 
from  the  Island,  came  on  board,  and  was  led  into  the  state-room  where  lay  all  that 
was  mortal  of  Mrs.  Judson.  "Pleasant,"  he  says,  "she  was  even  in  death.  A  sweet 
smile  beamed  on  her  countenance,  as  if  heavenly  grace  had  stamped  it  there.  The 
bereaved  husband  and  three  weeping  children  fastened  their  eyes  upon  the  loved  re- 
mains, as  if  they  could  have  looked  forever." 

The  coffin  was  borne  to  the  shore,  the  boats  forming  a  kind  of  procession,  their 
oars  beating  the  waves  at  measured  intervals  as  a  sort  of  funeral  knell.  The  earth 
received  her  dust,  and  her  bereaved  husband  continued  his  sad  voyage  towards  his 
native  land,  again  a  widowed  mourner. 


FRANCIS  LEAYIS. 

FRANCIS  LEWIS  was  a  native  of  Landaff,  in  South  "Wales,  where  he  was  born 
in  1713.  His  father  was  a  clergyman,  belonging  to  the  Established  Church. 
His  mother  was  the  daughter  of  Dr.  Pettingal,  who  was  also  a  clergyman  of  the 
Episcopal  Establishment,  and  had  his  residence  in  North  Wales.  At  the  early  age 
of  four  or  five  years,  being  left  an  orphan,  the  care  of  him  devolved  upon  a  maternal 
maiden  aunt,  who  took  singular  pains  to  have  him  instructed  in  the  native  language 
of  his  country.  He  was  afterwards  sent  to  Scotland,  where,  in  the  family  of  a  rela- 
tion, he  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  G-aelic.  From  this  he  was  transferred  to  the 
school  of  Westminster,  where  he  completed  his  education,  and  enjoyed  the  reputation 
of  being  a  good  classical  scholar. 

Mercantile  pursuits  being  his  object,  he  entered  the  counting-room  of  a  London 
merchant,  where,  in  a  few  years,  he  acquired  a  competent  knowledge  of  the  profes- 
sion. On  attaining  to  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  he  collected  the  property  which 
had  been  left  him  by  his  father,  and,  having  converted  it  into  merchandise,  he  sailed 
for  New  York,  where  he  arrived  in  the  spring  of  1735. 

Leaving  a  part  of  his  goods  to  be  sold  in  New  York,  by  Mr.  Edward  Annesly, 
with  whom  he  had  formed  a  commercial  connection,  he  transported  the  remainder  to 
Philadelphia,  whence,  after  a  residence  of  two  years,  he  returned  to  the  former  city, 
and  there  became  extensively  engaged  in  navigation  and  foreign  trade.  About  this 
time  he  connected  himself  by  marriage  with  the  sister  of  his  partner,  by  whom  he 
had  several  children. 

Mr.  Lewis  acquired  the  character  of  an  active  and  enterprising  merchant.  In  the 
course  of  his  commercial  transactions,  he  traversed  a  considerable  part  of  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe.  He  visited  several  of  the  seaports  of  Russia,  the  Orkney  and  Shet- 
land islands,  and  twice  suffered  shipwreck  on  the  Irish  coast. 

During  the  French  or  Canadian  war,  Mr.  Lewis  was,  for  a  time,  agent  for  supply- 
ing the  British  troops.  In  this  capacity,  he  was  present  at  the  time  when,  in 
August,  1756,  the  fort  of  Oswego  was  surrendered  to  the  distinguished  French  gen- 
eral, Montcalm.  The  fort  was  at  that  time  commanded  by  the  British  Colonel 
Mersey.  On  the  tenth  of  August  Montcalm  approached  it  with  more  than  five  thou- 
sand Europeans,  Canadians,  and  Indians.  On  the  twelfth,  at  midnight,  he  opened 
the  trenches  with  thirty-two  pieces  of  cannon,  besides  several  brass  mortars  and 
howitzers.  The  garrison,  having  fired  away  all  their  shells  and  ammunition,  Colonel 
Mersey  ordered  the  cannon  to  be  spiked,  and  crossed  the  river  to  Little  Oswego  Fort, 
without  the  loss  of  a  single  man.  Of  the  deserted  fort  the  enemy  took  immediate 
possession,  and  from  it  began  a  fire  which  was  kept  up  without  intermission.  The 
next  day  Colonel  Mersey  was  killed  while  standing  by  the  side  of  Mr.  Lewis. 


FRANCIS    LEWIS. 

The  garrison,  being  thus  deprived  of  their  commander,  their  fort  destitute  of  a 
cover,  and  no  prospect  of  aid  presenting  itself,  demanded  a  capitulation,  and  surren- 
dered as  prisoners  of  war.  The  garrison  consisted  at  this  time  of  the  regiments  of 
Shirley  and  Pepperell,  and  amounted  to  one  thousand  and  four  hundred  men.  The 
conditions  required  and  acceded  to  were,  that  they  should  be  exempted  from  plun- 
der, conducted  to  Montreal,  and  treated  with  humanity.  The  services  rendered  by 
Mr.  Lewis  during  the  war  were  held  in  such  consideration  by  the  British  govern- 
ment, that  at  the  close  of  it  he  received  a  grant  of  five  thousand  acres  of  land. 

The  conditions  upon  which  the  garrison  at  Fort  Oswego  surrendered  to  Montcalm, 
were  shamefully  violated  by  that  commander.  They  were  assured  of  kind  treatment ; 
but  no  sooner  had  the  surrender  been  made,  than  Montcalm  allowed  the  chief  warrior 
of  the  Indians — who  assisted  in  taking  the  fort — to  select  about  thirty  of  the  prison- 
ers, and  do  with  them  as  he  pleased.  Of  this  number  Mr.  Lewis  was  one.  Placed 
thus  at  the  disposal  of  savage  power,  a  speedy  and  cruel  death  was  to  be  expected. 
The  tradition  is,  however,  that  he  soon  discovered  that  he  was  able  to  converse  with 
the  Indians,  by  reason  of  the  similarity  of  the  ancient  language  of  Wales,  which  he 
understood,  to  the  Indian  dialect.  The  ability  of  Mr.  Lewis  thus  readily  to  commu- 
nicate with  the  chief,  so  pleased  the  latter,  that  he  treated  him  kindly,  and,  on  arriving 
at  Montreal,  he  requested  the  French  Governor  to  allow  him  to  return  to  his  family 
without  ransom.  The  request,  however,  was  not  granted,  and  Mr.  Lewis  was  sent  as 
a  prisoner  to  France,  from  which  country,  being  some  time  after  exchanged,  he 
returned  to  America. 

This  tradition  as  to  the  cause  of  the  liberation  of  Mr.  Lewis,  is  incorrect ;  no  such 
affinity  existing  between  the  Oymreag,  or  ancient  language  of  Wales,  and  the  lan- 
guage of  any  of  the  Indian  tribes  found  in  North  America.  The  cause  might  have 
been,  and  probably  was,  some  unusual  occurrence  or  adventure ;  but  of  ifs  precise 
nature  we  are  not  informed. 

Although  Mr.  Lewis  was  not  born  in  America,  his  attachment  to  the  country  was 
coeval  with  his  settlement  in  it.  He  early  espoused  the  patriotic  cause  against  the 
encroachments  of  the  British  government,  and  was  among  the  first  to  unite  with  an 
association  which  existed  in  several  parts  of  the  country,  called  the  "  Sons  of  Liberty,'' 
the  object  of  which  was  to  concert  measures  against  the  exercise  of  an  undue  power 
on  the  part  of  the  mother  country. 

The  independent  and  patriotic  character  which  Mr.  Lewis  was  known  to  possess, 
the  uniform  integrity  of  his  life,  the  distinguished  intellectual  powers  with  which  he 
was  endued,  all  pointed  him  out  as  a  proper  person  to  assist  in  taking  charge  of  the 
interests  of  the  colony  in  the  Continental  Congress.  Accordingly,  in  April,  1775,  he 
was  unanimously  elected  a  delegate  to  that  body.  In  this  honorable  station  he  was 
continued  by  the  Provincial  Congress  of  New  York  through  the  following  year,  1776, 
and  was  among  the  number  who  declared  the  colonies  forever  absolved  from  their 
allegiance  to  the  British  crown,  and  from  that  time  entitled  to  the  rank  and  privileges 
of  free  and  independent  States. 

In  several  subsequent  years  he  was  appointed  to  represent  the  State  in  the  national 
legislature.  During  his  Congressional  career,  Mr.  Lewis  was  distinguished  for  a  be- 
coming zeal  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  tempered  by  the  influence  of  a  correct  judgment 
end  a  cautious  prudence.  He  was  employed  in  several  secret  services,  in  the  pur- 


248  FRANCIS    LEWIS. 

chase  of  provisions  and  clothing  for  the  army,  and  in  the  importation  of  military 
stores,  particularly  arms  and  ammunition.  In  transactions  of  this  kind,  his  commer- 
cial experience  gave  him  great  facilities.  He  was  also  employed  on  various  commit- 
tees, in  which  capacity  he  rendered  many  valuable  services  to  his  country. 

In  1775  Mr.  Lewis  removed  his  family  and  effects  to  a  country  seat  which  he 
owned  on  Long  Island.  This  proved  to  be  an  unfortunate  step.  In  the  autumn  of 
the  following  year  his  house  was  plundered  by  a  party  of  British  light-horse.  His 
extensive  library  and  valuable  papers  of  every  description  were  wantonly  destroyed. 
]STor  were  they  contented  with  this  ruin  of  his  property.  They  thirsted  for  revenge 
upon  a  man  who  had  dared  to  affix  his  signature  to  a  document  which  proclaimed 
the  independence  of  America.  Unfortunately,  Mrs.  Lewis  fell  into  their  power,  and 
was  retained  a  prisoner  for  several  months.  During  her  captivity  she  was  closely 
confined,  without  even  the  comfort  of  a  bed  to  lie  upon,  or  a  change  of  clothes. 

In  November,  1776,  the  attention  of  Congress  was  called  to  her  distressed  condi- 
tion, and  shortly  after  a  resolution  was  passed  that  a  lady,  who  had  been  taken  pris- 
oner by  the  Americans,  should  be  permitted  to  return  to  her  husband,  and  that  Mrs. 
Lewis  be  required  in  exchange.  But  the  exchange  could  not  at  that  time  be  effected. 
Through  the  influence  of  Washington,  however,  Mrs.  Lewis  was  at  length  released ; 
but  her  sufferings  during  her  confinement  had  so  much  impaired  her  constitution, 
that  in  the  course  of  a  year  or  two  she  sunk  into  the  grave. 

Of  the  subsequent  life  of  Mr.  Lewis  we  have  little  to  record.  His  latter  days 
were  spent  in  comparative  poverty,  his  independent  fortune  having,  in  a  great  meas- 
ure, been  sacrificed  on  the  altar  of  patriotism  during  his  country's  struggle  for  inde- 
pendence. The  life  of  this  excellent  man  and  distinguished  patriot  was  extended  to 
his  ninetieth  year.  His  death  occurred  on  the  30th  day  of  December,  1803. 


MASSASOIT. 

THIS  renowned  sachem  was  one  of  the  principal  Indian  chiefs  whom  the  pilgrim 
band  of  the  May  Flower  found  in  possession  when  they  landed  at  Plymouth,  in 
1620.  His  first  salutation  was  a  friendly  one,  and  he  never  withdrew  his  friendship 
from  the  whites.  He  was  a  mild  and  pacific  prince,  and  ruled  his  great  and  rude 
people  with  a  deep  sagacity  united  to  a  strong  affection  for  them,  and  the  manifesta- 
tion of  a  constant  regard  for  their  interests  and  happiness. 

Massasoit  had  several  places  of  residence,  the  principal  of  which  was  Mount  Hope, 
or  Pokanoket,  near  Bristol,  Rhode  Island,  on  the  Narragansett  Bay.  He  has  been 
called,  also,  by  a  variety  of  names,  as  Woosamequin,  Asuhmequin,  Oosamequen, 
Osamekin,  Owsamequin,  Owsamequine,  Ussamequen,  Wasamegin,  &c.,  &c. ;  but 
Massasoit  seems  to  have  been  the  name  he  bore  when  the  country  was  first  occupied, 
and  by  which  he  has  ever  since  been  known  in  history.  He  was  the  chief  of  the 
Wampanoags.  At  first  the  Indians  were  very  shy  of  the  new-comers,  but  soon 
gained  confidence,  and  a  treaty  of  amity  and  commerce  was  established  between 
them,  by  which  the  Puritans  were  preserved  from  utter  ruin ;  first,  by  the  ravages  of 
famine,  and,  secondly,  by  the  treachery  and  ferocity  of  the  surrounding  tribes  of  In- 
dians. The  personal  appearance  of  this  celebrated  sachem  is  thus  given  by  Governor 
Carver,  in  1621 :  "  He  is  a  very  lusty  man,  in  his  best  years,  an  able  body,  grave  of 
countenance,  and  spare  of  speech ;  in  his  attire  little  or  nothing  differing  from  the 
rest  of  his  followers,  only  in  a  great  chain  of  white  bone  beads  about  his  neck  ;  and 
at  it,  behind  his  neck,  hangs  a  little  bag  of  tobacco,  which  he  drank,  and  gave  us  to 
drink.  His  face  was  painted  with  a  sad  red-like  murrey,  and  oiled  both  head  and 
face,  that  he  looked  greasily.  All  his  followers  likewise  were,  in  their  faces,  in  part 
or  in  whole,  painted,  some  black,  some  red,  some  yellow,  and  some  white ;  some  with 
crosses  and  other  antic  works ;  some  had  skins  on  them,  and  some  naked ;  all  strong, 
tall  men  in  appearance.  The  king  had  in  his  bosom,  hangirg  in  a  string,  a  great  long 
knife.  lie  marvelled  much  at  our  trumpet,  and  some  of  his  men  would  sound  it  as 
well  as  they  could." 

Through  the  influence  of  this  kind-hearted  chief  a  treaty  of  commerce  was  made, 
which  resulted  greatly  to  the  interests  of  the  colony.  On  that  occasion  he  replied  to 
some  suggestion  of  fear  that  the  Indians  might  not  be  willing  to  traffic  freely  :  "  Am 
I  not  Massasoit,  commander  of  the  country  about  us?  Is  not  such  and  such  places 
mine,  and  the  people  of  them  f  They  shall  take  their  skins  to  the  English"  This 
his  people  applauded.  In  his  speech,  "  he  named  at  least  thirty  places,"  over  which 
he  had  control. 

In  1623  Massasoit  was  dangerously  ill,  and  sent  for  aid  to  his  Plymouth  friends, 
who  at  once  responded  to  his  summons,  and  sent  Mr.  Winslow,  with  others,  to  min- 
ister to  his  necessities.  "  When  we  came  thither,"  says  Mr.  Winslow,  "  we  found 


250  MASSASOIT. 

the  house  so  full  of  men,  as  we  could  scarce  get  in,  though  they  used  their  best  dili- 
gence to  make  way  for  us.  There  were  they  in  the  midst  of  their  charms  for  him, 
making  such  a  hellish  noise,  as  it  distempered  us  that  were  well,  and,  therefore,  unlike 
to  ease  him  that  was  sick.  About  him  were  six  or  eight  women,  who  chafed  his  arms, 
legs,  and  thighs,  to  keep  heat  in  him.  When  they  had  made  an  end  of  their  charm- 
ing, one  told  him  that  his  friends,  the  English,  were  come  to  see  him.  Having  un- 
derstanding left,  but  his  sight  was  wholly  gone,  he  asked,  who  was  come.  They  told 
him  Winsnow  (for  they  cannot  pronounce  the  letter  Z,  but  ordinarily  n  in  the  place 
thereof).  He  desired  to  speak  with  me.  When  I  came  to  him,  and  they  told  him 
of  it,  he  put  forth  his  hand  to  me,  which  I  took.  Then  he  said  twice,  though  very 
inwardly,  Keen  Winsnow^  which  is  to  say,  Art  thou  Winslowf  I  answered,  Ahhe, 
that  is,  Yes.  Then  he  doubled  these  words :  Matta  neen  wonckanet  namen,  Wins. 
now  / — that  is  to  say,  Oh  Winslow,  I  shall  never  see  thee  again  /"  But  contrary  to 
his  own  expectations,  as  well  as  all  his  friends,  by  the  kind  exertions  of  Mr.  Winslow, 
he  in  a  short  time  entirely  recovered. 

For  this  attention  of  the  English  he  was  very  grateful,  and  always  believed  that 
his  preservation  at  this  time  was  owing  to  the  benefit  he  received  from  Mr.  Winslow. 
In  his  way  on  his  visit  to  Massasoit,  Mr.  Winslow  broke  a  bottle  containing  some 
preparation,  and,  deeming  it  necessary  to  the  sachem's  recovery,  wrote  a  letter  to  the 
governor  of  Plymouth  for  another,  and  some  chickens  ;  in  which  he  gave  him  an 
account  of  his  success  thus  far.  The  intention  was  no  sooner  made  known  to  Massa- 
Boit,  than  one  of  his  men  was  sent  off,  at  two  o'clock  at  night,  for  Plymouth,  who 
returned  again  with  astonishing  quickness.  The  chickens  being  alive,  Massasoit  was 
so  pleased  with  them,  and,  being  better,  would  not  suffer  them  to  be  killed,  and  kept 
them  with  the  idea  of  raising  more.  While  at  Massasoit's  residence,  and  just  as  they 
were  about  to  depart,  the  sachem  told  Hobomok  of  a  plot  laid  by  some  of  his  subor- 
dinate chiefs  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  off  the  two  English  plantations,  which  he 
charged  him  to  acquaint  the  English  with,  which  he  did.  Massasoit  stated  that  he 
had  been  urged  to  join  in  it,  or  give  his  consent  thereunto,  but  had  always  refused, 
and  used  his  endeavors  to  prevent  it. 

The  date  of  the  death  of  this  noble-minded  chieftain  is  not  precisely  known,  but  it 
is  generally  supposed  that  it  occurred  about  the  year  1660-61,  and  supposing  him  to 
be  about  forty  years  old  when  he  first  met  the  English,  it  would  make  him  not  far 
from  eighty  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

We  shall  close  this  sketch  by  relating  an  anecdote,  which  exhibits  a  peculiar  trait 
in  Indian  life.  As  Mr.  Edward  Winslow  was  returning  from  a  trading  voyage  south- 
ward, having  left  his  vessel,  he  travelled  home  by  land,  and  in  the  way  stopped  with 
his  old  friend  Massasoit,  who  agreed  to  accompany  him  the  rest  of  the  way  ;  in  the 
mean  time,  Ousamequin  sent  one  of  his  men  forward  to  Plymouth,  to  surprise  the 
people  with  the  news  of  Mr.  Winslow's  death.  By  his  manner  of  relating  it,  and 
the  particular  circumstances  attending,  no  one  doubted  of  its  truth,  and  every  one 
was  grieved  and  mourned  exceedingly  at  their  great  loss.  But  presently  they  were 
as  much  surprised  at  seeing  him  corning  in  company  with  Ousamequin.  When  it 
was  known  among  the  people  that  the  sachem  had  sent  this  news  to  them,  they  de- 
manded why  he  should  thus  deceive  them.  He  replied  that  it  was  to  make  him  the 
more  welcome  when  he  did  return,  and  that  this  was  a  custom  of  his  people. 


JAMES  OGLETHORPE, 

JAMES  OGLETHORPE,  the  founder  of  Georgia,  was  born  in  England  about  the 
year  1688.  Entering  the  army  at  an  early  age,  he  served  under  Prince  Eugene, 
to  whom  he  became  secretary  and  aid-de-camp.  On  the  restoration  of  peace  he  was 
returned  a  member  of  Parliament,  and  distinguished  himself  as  a  useful  senator  by 
proposing  several  regulations  for  the  benefit  of  trade,  and  a  reform  in  the  prisons. 
His  philanthropy  is  commemorated  in  Thomson's  Seasons.  His  benevolence  led 
him  in  1732  to  become  one  of  the  trustees  of  Georgia,  a  colony  the  design  of  whose 
settlement  was  principally  to  rescue  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain  from 
the  miseries  of  poverty,  to  open  an  asylum  for  the  persecuted  Protestants  of  Europe, 
and  to  carry  to  the  natives  the  blessings  of  Christianity.  In  the  prosecution  of  this 
design  Mr.  Oglethorpe  embarked  in  November  with  a  number  of  emigrants,  and 
arriving  at  Carolina  in  the  middle  of  January,  1733,  he  proceeded  immediately  to  the 
Savannah  River,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  the  town  of  Savannah.  He  made  treaties 
with  the  Indians,  and  crossed  the  Atlantic  several  times  to  promote  the  interests  of 
the  colony.  Being  appointed  general  and  commander-in-chief  of  his  majesty's  forces 
in  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  he  brought  from  England  in  1738  a  regiment  of  six 
hundred  men  to  protect  the  southern  frontiers  from  the  Spaniards.  A  mutiny  was 
soon  excited  in  his  camp,  and  a  daring  attempt  was  made  to  assassinate  him ;  but 
his  life  was  wonderfully  preserved,  through  the  care  of  that  Providence  which  controls 
all  earthly  agents  and  superintends  every  event.  After  the  commencement  of  the 
war  between  Great  Britain  and  Spain  in  1739,  he  visited  the  Indians  to  secure  their 
friendship,  and  in  1740  he  went  into  Florida  on  an  unsuccessful  expedition  against 
St.  Augustine.  As  the  Spaniards  laid  claim  to  Georgia,  three  thousand  men,  a  part 
of  whom  were  from  Havana,  were  sent  in  1742  to  drive  Oglethorpe  from  the  fron- 
tiers. When  this  force  proceeded  up  the  Alatamaha,  passing  Fort  St.  Simon's  with- 
out injury,  he  was  obliged  to  retreat  to  Frederica.  He  had  but  about  seven  hundred 
men,  besides  Indians ;  yet  with  a  part  of  these  he  approached  within  two  miles  of 
the  enemy's  camp,  with  the  design  of  attacking  them  by  surprise,  when  a  French 
soldier  of  his  party  fired  his  musket  and  ran  into  the  Spanish  lines.  His  situation 
was  now  very  critical,  for  he  knew  that  the  deserter  would  make  known  his  weakness. 
Returning,  however,  to  Frederica,  he  had  recourse  to  the  following  expedient.  He 
wrote  a  letter  to  the  deserter,  desiring  him  to  acquaint  the  Spaniards  with  the  de- 
fenceless state  of  Frederica,  and  to  urge  them  to  the  attack ;  if  he  could  not  effect 
this  object,  he  directed  him  to  use  all  his  art  to  persuade  them  to  stay  three  days  at 
Fort  Simon's,  as  within  that  time  he  should  have  a  reinforcement  of  two  thousand 
land  forces,  with  six  ships  of  war ;  cautioning  him  at  the  same  time  not  to  drop  a  hint 
of  Admiral  Yernon's  meditated  attack  upon  St.  Augustine.  A  Spanish  prisoner  was 
Intrusted  with  this  letter,  under  promise  of  delivering  it  to  the  deserter.  But  he  gave 

17 


252  JAMES    OGLETHORPE. 

it,  as  was  expected  and  intended,  to  the  commander-in-chief,  who  instantly  put  the 
deserter  in  irons.  In  the  perplexity,  occasioned  by  this  letter,  while  the  enemy  was 
deliberating  what  measures  to  adopt,  three  ships  of  force,  which  the  governor  of 
South  Carolina  had  sent  to  Oglethorpe's  aid,  appeared  off  the  coast.  The  Spanish 
commander  was  now  convinced,  beyond  all  question,  that  the  letter,  instead  of  being 
a  stratagem,  contained  serious  instructions  to  a  spy,  and  in  this  moment  of  consterna- 
tion set  fire  to  the  fort,  and  embarked  so  precipitately  as  to  leave  behind  him  a  num- 
ber of  cannon  with  a  quantity  of  military  stores.  Thus  by  an  event  beyond  human 
foresight  or  control,  by  the  correspondence  between  the  artful  suggestions  of  a  mili- 
tary genius  and  the  blowing  of  the  winds,  was  the  infant  colony  providentially  saved 
from  destruction,  and  Oglethorpe  retrieved  his  reputation  and  gained  the  character  of 
an  able  general.  He  now  returned  to  England,  and  never  again  revisited  Georgia. 
In  1745  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major-general,  and  was  sent  against  the 
rebels,  but  did  not  overtake  them,  for  which  he  was  tried  by  a  court-martial  and  hon- 
orably acquitted.  After  the  return  of  Gage  to  England,  in  1775,  the  command  of  the 
British  army  in  America  was  offered  to  General  Oglethorpe.  He  professed'his  read- 
iness to  accept  the  appointment  if  the  ministry  would  authorize  him  to  assure  the 
colonies  that  justice  would  be  done  them ;  but  the  command  was  given  to  Sir  William 
Howe.  He  died  in  August,  1785,  at  the  age  of  ninety-seven,  being  the  oldest  general 
in  the  service. — Allen's  Biograph.  Diet. 


JOSEPH  PRIESTLEY,  D,D, 

JOSEPH  PPJESTLEY,  D.  D.,  an  eminent  philosopher,  and  voluminous  writer, 
was  born  at  Fieldhead,  in  Yorkshire,  England,  March  24,  1733.  His  father  was 
a  cloth-dresser.  At  the  age  of  nineteen  he  had  acquired  in  the  schools,  to  which  he 
had  been  sent,  and  by  the  aid  of  private  instruction,  a  good  knowledge  of  Greek, 
Latin,  and  Hebrew,  French,  Italian,  and  German ;  he  had  also  begun  to  read  Arabic, 
and  learned  Chaldee  and  Syriac.  With  these  attainments,  and  others  in  mathemat- 
ics, natural  philosophy,  and  morals,  he  entered  the  academy  of  Daventry,  under  Dr. 
Ashworth,  in  1752,  with  a  view  to  the  Christian  ministry.  Here  he  spent  three 
years.  The  students  were  referred  to  books  on  both  sides  of  every  question,  and  re- 
quired to  abridge  the  most  important  works.  The  tutors,  Mr.  Ashworth  and  Mr. 
Clark,  being  of  different  opinions,  and  the  students  being  divided,  subjects  of  dispute 
were  continually  discussed.  He  had  been  educated  in  Calvinism,  and  in  early  life 
he  suffered  great  distress  from  not  finding  satisfactory  evidence  of  the  renovation  of 
his  mind  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  He  had  great  aversion  to  plays  and  romances.  He 
attended  a  weekly  meeting  of  young  men  for  conversation  and  prayer.  But  before 
he  went  to  the  academy  he  became  an  Arminian,  though  he  retained  the  doctrine  of 
the  trinity  and  of  the  atonement.  At  the  academy  he  embraced  Arianism.  Perus- 
ing Hartley's  observations  on  man,  he  was  fixed  in  the  belief  of  the  doctrine  of  ne- 
cessity. In  1755  he  became  assistant  minister  to  the  independent  congregation  of 
Needham  Market,  in  Suffolk,  upon  a  salary  of  forty  pounds  a  year.  Falling,  under  a 
suspicion  of  Arianism,  he  became  pastor  of  a  congregation  at  Nantwich,  in  Cheshire, 
in  1758,  where  he  remained  three  years,  being  not  only  minister  but  schoolmaster. 
In  1761  he  removed  to  Warrington,  as  tutor  in  the  belles-lettres  in  the  academy  there. 
In  1767  he  accepted  the  pastoral  office  at  Leeds.  Here  by  reading  Lardner's  letter 
on  the  Logos  he  became  a  Socinian.  In  1773  he  went  to  live  with  the  Marquis  of 
Lansdowne,  as  librarian  or  literary  companion,  with  a  salary  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds  a  year.  During  a  connection  of  seven  years  with  his  lordship  he  visited, 
in  his  company,  France,  Holland,  and  some  parts  of  Germany.  He  then  became 
minister  of  Birmingham.  At  length,  when  several  of  his  friends  celebrated  the 
French  Revolution,  July  14,  1791,  a  mob  collected  and  set  fire  to  the  dissenting 
meeting-houses,  and  several  dwelling-houses  of  dissenters,  and  among  others  to  that 
of  Dr.  Priestley.  He  lost  his  library,  apparatus,  and  papers,  and  was  forced  to  take 
refuge  in  the  metropolis.  He  was  chosen  to  succeed  Dr.  Price  at  Hackney,  and  was 
a  lecturer  in  the  dissenting  college  of  that  place.  But  the  public  aversion  to  him 
being  strong,  and  his  sons  emigrating  to  the  United  States,  he  followed  them  in  April, 
1794.  He  settled  at  Northumberland,  a  town  of  Pennsylvania  about  one  hundred 
and  thirty  miles  northwest  of  Philadelphia.  In  this  city,  for  two  or  three  winters 
after  his  arrival,  he  delivered  lectures  on  the  evidences  of  Christianity.  In  his  last 


254:  JOSEPH    PRIESTLEY,   D.D. 

sickness  he  expressed  his  coincidence  with  Simpson  on  the  duration  of  future  punish- 
ment. He  died  in  calmness,  and  in  the  full  vigor  of  his  mind,  February  6,  1804,  in 
the  seventy-first  year  of  his  age.  He  dictated  some  alterations  in  his  manuscripts 
half  an  hour  before  his  death. 

Dr.  Priestley  was  amiable  and  affectionate  in  the  intercourse  of  private  and  domes- 
tic life.  Few  men  in  modern  times  have  written  so  much,  or  with  such  facility. 
His  readiness  with  the  pen  he  attributed,  in  a  great  degree,  to  the  habit  of  writing 
down,  in  early  life,  the  sermons  which  he  heard  at  public  worship.  To  superior  abil- 
ities he  joined  industry,  activity,  dispatch,  and  method  ;  yet  his  application  to  study 
was  not  so  great,  as  from  the  multitude  of  his  works  one  would  imagine,  for  he  sel- 
dom spent  more  than  six  or  eight  hours  in  a  day  in  any  labor  which  required  much 
mental  exertion.  A  habit  of  regularity  extended  itself  to  all  his  studies.  He  never 
read  a  book  without  determining  in  his  own  mind  when  he  would  finish  it;  and  at 
the  beginning  of  every  year  he  arranged  the  plan  of  his  literary  pursuits  and  scien- 
tific researches.  He  labored  under  a  great  defect,  which,  however,  was  not  a  very 
considerable  impediment  to  his  progress.  He  sometimes  lost  all  ideas,  both  of  persons 
and  things,  with  which  he  had  been  conversant.  Once  he  had  occasion  to  write  a 
piece  respecting  the  Jewish  passover,  in  doing  which  he  was  obliged  to  consult  and 
compare  several  writers.  Having  finished  it,  he  threw  it  aside.  In  about  a  fortnight 
he  performed  this  same  labor  again,  having  forgotten  that  he  had  a  few  days  before 
done  it.  Apprised  of  this  defect,  he  used  to  write  down  what  he  did  not  wish  to  for- 
get, and  by  a  variety  of  mechanical  expedients  he  secured  and  arranged  his  thoughts, 
and  derived  the  greatest  assistance  in  writing  large  and  complex  works.  By  simple 
and  mechanical  methods,  he  did  that  in  a  mouth,  which  men  of  equal  ability  could 
hardly  execute  in  a  year.  He  always  did  immediately  what  he  had  to  perform. 
Though  he  rose  early  and  dispatched  his  more  serious  pursuits  in  the  morning,  yet  he 
was  as  well  qualified  for  mental  exertion  at  one  time  of  the  day  as  at  another.  All 
seasons  were  equal  to  him,  early  or  late,  before  dinner  or  after.  He  could  also  write 
without  inconvenience  by  the  parlor  fire  with  his  wife  and  children  about  him,  and 
occasionally  talking  to  them.  In  his  diary  he  recorded  the  progress  of  his  studies, 
the  occurrences  of  the  day,  &c.  As  a  preacher  Dr.  Priestley  was  not  distinguished. 
He  had  no  powers  of  oratory.  He  was,  however,  laborious  and  attentive  as  a  min- 
ister. He  bestowed  great  pains  upon  the  young  by  lectures  and  catechetical  in- 
structions. In  his  family  he  ever  maintained  the  worship  of  God.  As  a  schoolmaster 
and  professor  he  was  indefatigable.  With  respect  to  his  religious  sentiments  his 
mind  underwent  a  number; of  revolutions,  but  he  died  in  the  Socinian  faith,  which  he 
had  many  years  supported.  He  possesses  a  high  reputation  as  a  philosopher,  partic- 
ularly as  a  chemist.  Commencing  his  chemical  career  in  1772,  he  did  more  for 
chemistry  in  two  years  than  had  been  done  by  any  of  his  predecessors.  He  discov- 
ered the  existence  of  vital  or  dephlogisticated  air,  the  oxygen  gas  of  the  French 
nomenclature,  and  other  kinds  of  aeriform  fluids,  and  many  methods  of  procuring 
them.  He  always  adhered  to  the  old  doctrine  of  Stahl  respecting  phlogiston,  though 
the  whole  scientific  world  had  rejected  it,  and  embraced  the  theory  of  Lavoisier.  But 
his  versatile  mind  could  not  be  confined  to  one  subject.  He  was  not  only  a  chemist 
but  an  eminent  metaphysician.  He  was  a  materialist  and  necessarian.  He  main- 
tained that  all  volitions  are  the  necessary  result  of  previous  circumstances,  the  will 


JOSEPH    PRIESTLEY,   D.D.  255 

being  always  governed  by  motives;  and  yet  he  opposed  the  Calvinistic  doctrine  of 
predestination.  The  basis  of  his-  necessarian  theory  was  Hartley's  observations  on 
man.  In  order  to  escape  the  difficulty,  which  he  supposed  would  arise  from  ascribing 
the  existence  of  sin  to  the  will  of  God,  he  embraced  the  system  of  optimism ;  he  con- 
sidered all  evil  as  resulting  in  the  good  of  the  whole  and  of  each  part ;  he  thought 
that  all  intelligent  beings  would  be  conducted  through  various  degrees  of  discipline 
to  happiness.  He  wrote  also  upon  politics,  and  it  was  in  consequence  of  his  advo- 
cating republican  sentiments,  as  well  as  of  his  religious  opinions,  that  his  situation 
was  rendered  so  unpleasant  in  England.  He  found  it  a  convenient  way  of  learning 
a  science  to  undertake  to  teach  it,  or  to  make  a  book  or  treatise  upon  the  particular 
subject  of  his  studies.  The  chart  of  history  used  in  France  was  much  improved  by 
him,  and  he  invented  the  chart  of  biography,  which  is  very  useful.  Of  his  numerous 
publications  the  following  are  the  principal:  a  treatise  on  English  grammar,  1761 ; 
on  the  doctrine  of  remission  ;  history  of  electricity,  176T  ;  history  of  vision,  light,  and 
colors  ;  introduction  to  perspective,  1770  ;  harmony  of  the  evangelists  ;  catechisms  ; 
address  to  masters  of  families  on  prayer ;  experiments  on  air,  4  vols. ;  observations 
on  education ;  lectures  on  oratory  and  criticism ;  institutes  of  natural  and  revealed 
religion  ;  a  reply  to  the  Scotch  metaphysicians,  Reid,  Oswald,  and  Beattie ;  disqui- 
sitions on  matter  and  spirit,  1777 ;  history  of  the  corruptions  of  Christianity ;  letters 
to  Bishop  Newcome  on  the  duration  of  Christ's  ministry ;  correspondence  with  Dr. 
Horseley ;  history  of  early  opinions  concerning  Jesus  Christ,  4  vols.,  1786  ;  lectures 
on  history  and  general  policy ;  answers  to  Paine  and  Volney ;  several  pieces  on  the 
doctrine  of  philosophical  necessity,  in  a  controversy  with  Dr.  Price  ;  discourses  on 
the  evidences  of  revealed  religion,  3  vols. ;  letters  to  a  philosophical  unbeliever ;  dis- 
courses on  various  subjects.  He  also  wrote  many  defences  of  Unitarianism,  and  con- 
tributed largely  to  the  Theological  Repository,  which  was  published  many  years  ago 
in  England.  After  his  arrival  in  this  country  he  published  a  comparison  of  the  insti- 
tutions of  the  Mosaic  religion  with  those  of  the  Hindoos;  Jesus  and  Socrates  com- 
pared; several  tracts  against  Dr.  Linn,  who  wrote  against  the  preceding  pamphlet; 
notes  on  the  Scriptures,  4  vols. ;  history  of  the  Christian  church,  6  vols. ;  several 
pamphlets  on  philosophical  subjects,  and  in  defence  of  the  doctrine  of  phlogiston. 
Dr.  Priestley's  life  was  published  in  1806,  in  two  volumes.  The  memoirs  were  writ- 
ten by  himself  to  the  year  1787,  and  a  short  continuation  by  his  own  hand  brings 
them  to  1795. — Allen's  Bioy.  Diet. 


JOHN  REDMAN,  M,  D, 

DK.  REDMAN,  first  president  of  the  College  of  Physicians  of  Philadelphia, 
was  born  in  that  city,  Febrnary  27,  1722.  After  finishing  his  preparatory  edu- 
cation in  the  Rev.  Mr.  Tennent's  academy,  he  entered  upon  the  study  of  physic  with 
Dr.  John  Kearsley,  then  one  of  the  most  respectable  physicians  of  Philadelphia. 
When  he  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession,  he  went  to  Bermuda,  where  he 
continued  for  several  years.  Thence  he  proceeded  to  Europe,  for  the  purpose  of  per- 
fecting his  acquaintance  with  medicine.  He  lived  one  year  in  Edinburgh ;  he  at- 
tended lectures,  dissections,  and  the  hospitals  in  Paris ;  he  was  graduated  at  Leyden, 
in  July,  1748 ;  and  after  passing  some  time  at  Gray's  Hospital  he  returned  to  Amer- 
ica, and  settled  in  his  native  city,  where  he  soon  gained  great  and  deserved  celebrity. 
When  he  was  about  forty  years  of  age  he  was  afflicted  with  an  abscess  in  his  liver, 
the  contents  of  which  were  expectorated,  and  he  was  frequently  confined  by  acute 
diseases ;  yet  he  lived  to  a  great  age.  In  the  evening  of  his  life  he  withdrew  from 
the  labors  of  his  profession ;  but  it  was  only  to  engage  in  business  of  another  kind. 
In  the  year  1784  he  was  elected  an  elder  of  the  second  Presbyterian  church,  and  the 
benevolent  duties  of  this  office  employed  him  and  gave  him  delight.  The  death  of 
his  younger  daughter  in  1806  was  soon  succeeded  by  the  death  of  his  wife,  with  whom 
he  had  lived  with  uninterrupted  harmony  near  sixty  years.  He  himself  died  of  an 
apoplexy,  March  19,  1808,  in  the  eighty-seventh  year  of  his  age. 

Dr.  Redman  was  somewhat  below  the  middle  stature ;  his  complexion  was  dark, 
and  his  eyes  uncommonly  animated.  In  the  former  part  of  his  life  he  possessed  an 
irritable  temper,  but  his  anger  was  transient,  and  he  was  known  to  make  acknowledg- 
ments to  his  pupils  and  servants  for  a  hasty  expression.  As  a  physician  his  principles 
were  derived  from  the  writings  of  Boerhaave,  but  his  practice  was  formed  by  the 
rules  of  Sydenham.  He  considered  a  greater  force  of  medicine  necessary  to  cure 
modern  American,  than  modern  British  diseases,  and  hence  he  was  a  decided  friend 
to  depletion  in  all  the  violent  diseases  of  our  country.  He  bled  freely  in  the  yellow 
fever  of  1762,  and  threw  the  weight  of  his  venerable  name  into  the  scale  of  the  same 
remedy  in  the  year  1793.  In  the  diseases  of  old  age  he  considered  small  and  frequent 
bleedings  as  the  first  of  remedies.  He  entertained  a  high  opinion  of  mercury  in  all 
chronic  diseases,  and  he  gave  it  in  the  natural  small-pox  with  the  view  of  touching 
the  salivary  glands  about  the  turn  of  the  pock.  He  introduced  the  use  of  turpeth- 
mineral  as  an  emetic  in  the  gangrenous  sore  throat  of  1764.  Towards  the  close  of  his 
life  he  read  the  later  medical  writers,  and  embraced  with  avidity  some  of  the  modern 
opinions  and  modes  of  practice.  In  a  sick-room  his  talents  were  peculiar.  He  sus- 
pended pain  by  his  soothing  manner,  or  chased  it  away  by  his  conversation,  which 
was  occasionally  facetious  and  full  of  anecdotes,  or  serious  and  instructing.  He  was 


JOSEPH   REDMAN,  M.  D. 

remarkably  attached  to  all  the  members  of  his  family.  At  the  funeral  of  his  brother, 
Joseph  Redman,  in  1779,  after  the  company  were  assembled  he  rose  from  his  seat, 
and  grasping  the  lifeless  hand  of  his  brother,  he  turned  round  to  his  children  and 
other  relations  in  the  room,  and  addressed  them  in  the  following  words  :  "  I  declare 
in  the  presence  of  God  and  of  this  company,  that  in  the  whole  course  of  our  lives  no 
angry  word  nor  look  has  ever  passed  between  this  dear  brother  and  me."  He  then 
kneeled  down  by  the  side  of  his  coffin,  and  in  the  most  fervent  manner  implored  the 
protection  and  favor  of  God  to  his  widow  and  children.  He  was  an  eminent  Christian. 
While  he  was  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  he  thought  humbly  of  himself, 
and  lamented  his  slender  attainments  in  religion.  His  piety  was  accompanied  by 
benevolence  and  charity.  He  gave  liberally  to  the  poor.  Such  was  the  cheerfulness 
of  his  temper,  that  upon  serious  subjects  he  was  never  gloomy.  He  spoke  often  of 
death,  and  of  the  scenes  which  await  the  soul  after  its  separation  from  the  body,  with 
perfect  composure.  He  published  an  inaugural  dissertation  on  abortion,  1748,  and  a 
defence  of  inoculation,  1759. — Allen's  Blog.  Diet. 


WILLIAM   TENNENT, 

iTTILLIAM  TENNENT,  minister  of  Freehold,  New  Jersey,  was  born  in  Ireland, 
VV  June  3, 1T05.  He  arrived  in  America  when  in  the  fourteenth  year  of  his  age. 
Having  resolved  to  devote  himself  to  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel,  his  intense  applica- 
tion to  the  study  of  theology,  under  the  care  of  his  brother  at  New  Brunswick,  so  im- 
paired his  health  as  to  bring  on  a  decline.  He  became  more  and  more  emaciated, 
till  little  hope  of  life  was  left.  At  length  he  fainted  and  apparently  expired.  The 
neighborhood  were  invited  to  attend  his  funeral  on  the  next  day.  In  the  evening  his 
physician,  a  young  gentleman,  who  was  his  particular  friend,  returned  to  the  town, 
and  was  afflicted  beyond  measure  at  the  news  of  his  death.  Being  told,  that  when 
the  body  was  laid  out  a  little  tremor  of  the  flesh  under  the  arm  had  been  perceived, 
he  encouraged  the  hope  that  the  powers  of  life  had  not  yet  departed.  On  examining 
the  body  he  affirmed  that  he  felt  an  unusual  warmth,  and  had  it  restored  to  a  warm 
bed,  and  the  funeral  delayed.  All  probable  means  were  used  to  restore  life,  but  the 
third  day  arrived,  and  the  unintermitted  exertions  of  the  doctor  had  as  yet  been  in 
vain.  It  was  determined  by  the  brother  that  the  funeral  should  now  take  place ;  but 
the  physician  requested  a  delay  of  one  hour,  then  of  half  an  hour,  and  finally  of  a 
quarter  of  an  hour.  As  this  last  period  was  near  expired,  while  he  was  endeavoring 
to  soften  the  tongue,  which  he  had  discovered  to  be  much  swollen,  by  putting  some 
ointment  upon  it  with  a  feather,  the  body  opened  its  eyes,  gave  a  dreadful  groan,  and 
sunk  again  into  apparent  death.  The  efforts  were  now  renewed,  and  in  a  few  hours 
Mr.  Tennent  was  restored  to  life.  His  recovery,  however,  was  very  slow ;  all  former 
ideas  were  for  some  time  blotted  out  of  his  mind ;  and  it  was  a  year  before  he  was 
perfectly  restored.  To  his  friends  he  repeatedly  stated,  that  after  he  had  apparently 
expired  he  found  himself  in  heaven,  where  he  beheld  a  glory,  which  he  could  not  de- 
scribe, and  heard  songs  of  praise  before  this  glory,  which  were  unutterable.  He  was 
about  to  join  the  throng,  when  one  of  the  heavenly  messengers  said  to  him,  "  You 
must  return  to  the  earth."  At  this  instant  he  groaned,  and  opened  his  eyes  upon 
this  world.  For  three  years  afterwards  the  sounds  which  he  had  heard  were  not  out 
of  his  ears,  and  earthly  things  were  in  his  sight  as  vanity  and  nothing.  In  October, 
1733,  he  was  ordained  at  Freehold,  as  the  successor  of  his  brother,  the  Rev.  John 
Tennent.  It  was  not  long  before  his  inattention  to  worldly  concerns  brought  him  into 
debt.  In  his  embarrassment  a  friend  from  New  York  told  him,  that  the  only  remedy 
was  to  get  a  wife.  "  I  do  not  know  how  to  go  about  it,"  was  the  answer.  "  Then  I 
will  undertake  the  business,"  said  his  friend ;  "  I  have  a  sister-in-law  in  the  city,  a 
prudent  and  pious  widow."  The  next  evening  found  Mr.  Tennent  in  New  York,  and 
the  day  after  he  was  introduced  to  Mrs.  Noble.  Being  pleased  with  her  appearance, 
when  he  was  left  alone  with  her  he  abruptly  told  her  that  he  supposed  she  knew  his 
errand,  that  neither  his  time  nor  inclination  would  suffer  him  to  use  much  ceremony, 


Library 

WILLIAM   TENNENT.  259 

and  that  if  she  pleased  he  would  attend  his  charge  on  the  next  Sabbath,  and  return 
on  Monday  and  be  married.  "With  some  hesitation  the  lady  consented ;  and  she 
proved  an  invaluable  treasure  to  him.  About  the  year  17M,  when  the  faithful  preach- 
ing of  Mr.  Tennent  and  Mr.  John  Rowland  was  the  means  of  advancing,  in  a  very 
remarkable  degree,  the  cause  of  religion  in  JSTew  Jersey,  the  indignation  and  malice 
of  those  who  loved  darkness  rather  than  light,  and  who  could  not  quietly  submit  to 
have  their  false  security  shaken,  was  excited  against  these  servants  of  God.  There 
was  at  this  time  prowling  through  the  country  a  noted  man  named  Tom  Bell.  One 
evening  he  arrived  at  a  tavern  in  Princeton,  dressed  in  a  parson's  frock,  and  was  im- 
mediately accosted  as  the  Rev.  Mr.  Rowland,  whom  he  much  resembled.  This  mis- 
take was  sufficient  for  him.  The  next  day  he  went  to  a  congregation  in  the  county 
of  Hunterdon,  and  declaring  himself  to  be  Mr.  Rowland,  was  invited  to  preach  on 
the  Sabbath.  As  he  was  riding  to  church  in  the  family  wagon  accompanied  by  his 
host  on  an  elegant  horse,  he  discovered,  when  he  was  near  the  church,  that  he  had  left 
his  notes  behind,  and  proposed  to  ride  back  for  them  on  the  fine  horse.  The  proposal 
was  agreed  to,  and  Bell,  after  returning  to  the  house  and  rifling  the  desk,  made  off- 
with  the  horse.  Mr.  Rowland  was  soon  indicted  for  the  robbery,  but  it  happened 
that  on  the  very  day  on  which  the  robbery  was  committed  he  was  in  Pennsylvania 
or  Maryland,  and  this  circumstance  being  proved  by  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Tennent 
and  two  other  gentlemen,  who  accompanied  him,  the  jury  brought  in  a  verdict  of  not 
guilty.  Mr.  Rowland  could  not  again  be  brought  before  the  court ;  but  the  witnesses 
were  indicted  for  wilful  and  corrupt  perjury.  The  evidence  was  very  strong  against 
them,  for  many  had  seen  the  supposed  Mr.  Rowland  on  the  elegant  horse.  Mr.  Ten- 
nent employed  Mr.  John  Coxe,  an  eminent  lawyer,  to  conduct  his  defence.  He  went 
to  Trenton  on  the  day  appointed,  and  there  found  Mr.  Smith  of  New  York,  one  of 
the  ablest  lawyers  in  America,  and  of  a  religious  character,  who  had  voluntarily 
attended  to  aid  in  his  defence.  He  found  also  at  Trenton  his  brother  Gilbert,  from 
Philadelphia,  with  Mr.  Kinsey,  one  of  the  first  counsellors  in  the  city.  Mr.  Tennent 
was  asked  who  were  his  witnesses ;  he  replied  that  he  had  none,  as  the  persons  who 
accompanied  him  were  also  indicted.  He  was  pressed  to  delay  the  trial,  as  he  would 
most  certainly  be  convicted ;  but  he  insisted  that  it  should  proceed,  as  he  trusted  in 
God  to  vindicate  his  innocence.  Mr.  Coxe  was  charging  Mr.  Tennent  with  acting 
the  part  of  an  enthusiast,  when  the  bell  summoned  them  to  court.  The  latter  had  not 
walked  far  in  the  street  before  he  was  accosted  by  a  man  and  his  wife,  who  asked 
him  if  his  name  was  not  Tennent.  The  man  said  that  he  lived  in  a  certain  place  in 
Pennsylvania  or  Maryland ;  that  Mr.  Tennent  and  Mr.  Rowland  had  lodged  at  his 
house,  or  at  a  house  where  he  and  his  wife  had  been  servants,  at  a  particular  time, 
and  on  the  next  day  preached  ;  that  some  nights  before  he  left  home,  he  and  his  wife 
both  dreamed  repeatedly  that  Mr.  Tennent  was  in  distress  at  Trenton,  and  they  only 
could  relieve  him;  and  that  they,  in  consequence,  had  come  to  that  town,  and 
wished  to  know  what  they  had  to  do.  Mr.  Tennent  led  them  to  the  court-house,  and 
their  testimony  induced  the  jury  to  bring  in  a  verdict  of  not  guilty,  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  his  enemies.  After  a  life  of  great  usefulness,  Mr.  Tennent  died  at  Freehold, 
March  8, 1777,  aged  seventy-one  years.  He  was  well  read  in  divinity,  and  professed 
himself  a  moderate  Calvinist.  The  doctrines  of  man's  depravity,  the  atonement  of 
Christ,  the  necessity  of  the  all-powerful  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  renew  the 


2tJO  WILLIAM    TENNEtfT. 

heart,  in  consistence  with  the  free  agency  of  the  sinner,  were  among  the  leading  ar- 
ticles of  his  faith.  With  his  friends  he  was  at  all  times  cheerful  and  pleasant.  He 
once  dined  in  company  with  Governor  Livingston  and  Mr.  Whitfield,  when  the  latter 
expressed  the  consolation  he  found  in  believing,  amidst  the  fatigues  of  the  day,  that 
his  work  would  soon  be  done,  and  that  he  should  depart  and  be  with  Christ.  He 
appealed  to  Mr.  Tennent,  whether  that  was  not  his  comfort.  Mr.  Tennent  replied, 
"  What  do  you  think  I  should  say,  if  I  was  to  send  my  man  Tom  into  the  field  to 
plough,  and  at  noon  should  find  him  lounging  under  a  tree,  complaining  of  the  heat, 
and  of  his  difficult  work,  and  begging  to  be  discharged  of  his  hard  service  ?  What 
should  I  say  ?  Why,  that  he  was  an  idle,  lazy  fellow,  and  that  it  was  his  business 
to  do  the  work  that  I  had  appointed  him."  He  was  the  friend  of  the  poor.  The 
public  lost  in  him  a  firm  asserter  of  the  civil  and  religious  rights  of  his  country. 
Few  men  have  ever  been  more  holy  in  life,  more  submissive  to  the  will  of  God  under 
heavy  afflictions,  or  more  peaceful  in  death.  An  account  which  he  wrote  of  the 
revival  of  religion  in  Freehold,  and  other  places,  is  published  in  Prince's  Chris 
tian  History. — Allen's  Biog.  Diet. 


GEORGE  WALTON, 

GEORGE  WALTON,  the  last  of  the  Georgia  delegation  who  signed  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  was  born  in  the  county  of  Frederick,  Virginia,  about  the 
year  1740.  He  was  early  apprenticed  to  a  carpenter,  who  being  a  man  of  selfish  and 
contracted  views,  not  only  kept  him  closely  at  labor  during  the  day,  but  refused  him 
the  privilege  of  a  candle,  by  which  to  read  at  night. 

Young  Walton  possessed  a  mind  by  nature  strong  in  its  powers,  and  though  un- 
cultivated, not  having  enjoyed  even  the  advantages  of  a  good  scholastic  education,  he 
was  ardently  bent  on  the  acquisition  of  knowledge ;  so  bent,  that  during  the  day,  at 
his  leisure  moments,  he  would  collect  light  wood,  which  served  him  at  night  instead 
of  a  candle.  His  application  was  close  and  indefatigable ;  his  acquisitions  rapid  and 
valuable. 

At  the  expiration  of  his  apprenticeship  he  removed  to  the  province  of  Georgia, 
and  entered  the  office  of  a  Mr.  Young,  with  whom  he  pursued  the  preparatory  studies 
of  the  profession  of  law,  and  in  1774  he  entered  upon  its  duties. 

At  this  time  the  British  government  was  in  the  exercise  of  full  power  in  Georgia. 
Both  the  governor  and  his  council  were  firm  supporters  of  the  British  ministry.  It 
was  at  this  period  that  George  Walton,  and  other  kindred  spirits,  assembled  a  meet- 
ing of  the  friends  of  liberty,  at  the  liberty  pole,  at  Tondee's  tavern  in  Savannah,  to 
take  into  consideration  the  means  of  preserving  the  constitutional  rights  and  liberties 
of  the  people  of  Georgia,  which  were  endangered  by  the  then  recent  acts  of  the  Brit- 
ish parliament. 

At  this  meeting  Mr.  Walton  took  a  distinguished  part.  Others,  also,  entered  with 
great  warmth  and  animation  into  the  debate.  It  was,  at  length,  determined  to  invite 
the  different  parishes  of  the  province,  to  come  into  a  general  union  and  co-operation 
with  the  other  provinces  of  America  to  secure  their  constitutional  rights  and  liberties. 

In  opposition  to  this  plan,  the  royal  governor  and  his  council  immediately  and 
strongly  enlisted  themselves,  and  so  far  succeeded  by  their  influence  as  to  induce  an- 
other meeting,  which  was  held  in  January,  1775,  to  content  itself  with  preparing  a 
petition  to  be  presented  to  the  king.  Of  the  committee  appointed  for  this  purpose 
Mr.  Walton  was  a  member.  The  petition,  however,  shared  the  fate  of  its  numerous 
predecessors. 

In  February,  1775,  the  Committee  of  Safety  met  at  Savannah.  But  notwithstand- 
ing that  several  of  the  members  advocated  strong  and  decisive  measures,  a  majority 
were  for  pursuing,  for  the  present,  a  temporizing  policy.  Accordingly,  the  committee 
adjourned  without  concerting  any  plan  for  the  appointment  of  delegates  to  the  Con- 
tinental Congress.  This  induced  the  people  of  the  parish  of  St.  John  to  separate,  in 
a  degree,  from  the  provincial  government,  and  to  appoint  Mr.  Hall  a  delegate  to  rep- 
resent them  in  the  national  legislature. 


202  GEORGE    WALTON. 

In  the  month  of  July,  1775,  the  convention  of  Georgia  acceded  to  the  general  con- 
federacy, and  five  delegates,  Lyman  Hall,  Archibald  Bullock,  John  Houston,  John 
J.  Zubly,  and  Noble  "W.  Jones,  were  elected  to  represent  the  State  in  Congress. 

In  the  month  of  February,  1776,  Mr.  Walton  was  elected  to  the  same  honorable 
station,  and  in  the  following  month  of  October  was  re-elected.  From  this  time,  until 
October,  1781,  he  continued  to  represent  the  State  of  Georgia  at  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment, where  he  displayed  much  zeal  and  intelligence  in  the  discharge  of  the  various 
duties  which  were  assigned  him.  He  was  particularly  useful  on  a  committee,  of 
which  Robert  Morris  and  George  Clymer  were  his  associates,  appointed  to  transact 
important  continental  business  in  Philadelphia,  during  the  time  that  Congress  was 
obliged  to  retire  from  that  city. 

In  December,  1778,  Mr.  Walton  received  a  colonel's  commission  in  the  militia, 
and  was  present  at  the  surrender  of  Savannah  to  the  British  arms.  During  the  ob- 
stinate defence  of  that  place  Colonel  Walton  was  wounded  in  the  thigh,  in  consequence 
of  which  he  fell  from  his  horse,  and  was  made  a  prisoner  by  the  British  troops.  A 
brigadier-general  was  demanded  in  exchange  for  him  ;  but  in  September,  1779,  he  was 
exchanged  for  a  captain  of  the  navy. 

In  the  following  month  Colonel  Walton  was  appointed  governor  of  the  State ;  and 
in  the  succeeding  January  was  elected  a  member  of  Congress  for  two  years. 

The  subsequent  life  of  Mr.  Walton  was  filled  up  in  the  discharge  of  the  most  re- 
spectable offices  within  the  gift  of  the  State.  In  what  manner  he  was  appreciated  by 
the  people  of  Georgia,  may  be  learnt  from  the  fact  that  he  was  at  six  different  times 
elected  a  representative  to  Congress  ;  twice  appointed  governor  of  the  State  ;  once  a 
senator  of  the  United  States  ;  and  at  four  different  periods  a  judge  of  the  superior 
courts,  which  last  office  he  held  for  fifteen  years,  and  until  the  time  of  his  death. 

It  may  be  gathered  from  the  foregoing,  respecting  Mr.  Walton,  that  he  was  no 
ordinary  man.  He  rose  into  distinction  by  the  force  of  his  native  powers.  In  his 
temperament  he  was  ardent,  and  by  means  of  his  enthusiasm  in  the  great  cause  of 
liberty,  rose  to  higher  eminence,  and  secured  a  greater  share  of  public  favor  and  con- 
fidence than  he  would  otherwise  have  done. 

Mr.  Walton  was  not  without  his  faults  and  weaknesses.  He  was  accused  of  a 
degree  of  pedantry,  and  sometimes  indulged  his  satirical  powers  beyond  the  strict 
rules  of  propriety.  He  was  perhaps,  also,  too  contemptuous  of  public  opinion, 
especially  when  that  opinion  varied  from  his  own. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Walton  occurred  on  the  second  day  of  February,  1804.  During 
the  latter  years  of  his  life,  he  suffered  intensely  from  frequent  and  long-continued 
attacks  of  the  gout,  which  probably  tended  to  undermine  his  constitution,  and  to 
hasten  the  event  of  his  dissolution.  He  had  attained,  however,  to  a  good  age,  and 
closed  his  life,  happy  in  having  contributed  his  full  share  towards  the  measure  of  his 
country's  glory. 


ROGER  WILLIAMS. 

THE  name  of  Eoger  Williams  is  a  shibboleth  to-  religious  liberty.  His  was  one  of 
the  first  minds  in  America  capable  of  grasping  the  enlarged  idea,  "  that  no  man 
was  accountable  to  his  fellow-man,  either  in  Church  or  State,  for  his  religious  opinions  ;" 
and  he  boldly  declared  the  same  in  the  teeth  of  his  church,  and  defended  it  against 
the  ablest  teachers  and  rulers  in  the  Colonies.  For  this  he  suffered  all  manner  of 
persecution,  and  was  at  length  banished  from  civilized  society,  and  driven  forth  into 
the  wilderness  to  solicit  charity  at  the  hands  of  the  savages,  whom  he  found  more 
tolerant  and  merciful  than  his  Christian  brethren. 

In  his  lonely  march  and  shelterless  bivouacs  in  that  dark  forest,  with  the  faithful 
few  who  were  ready  to  share  his  exile,  how  little  did  he  dream  that  he  was  the  sower 
of  a  seed  which  should  spring  up  and  grow  into  a  mighty  tree,  destined  to  overshadow 
the  institutions  of  a  wide-reaching  republic,  and  that  millions  on  millions  of  freemen 
should  rise  up  and  call  him  blessed,  and  countless  voices  pronounce  his  name  with 
love  and  veneration. 

He  was  "  under  the  cloud,"  as  all  men  were  in  that  early  dawning  of  religious  free- 
dom, and  held,  pertinaciously  enough  it  must  be  confessed,  opinions  which  will  not 
bear  the  scrutiny  of  these  days  of  increased  light  and  learning;  but  that  great 
idea  which  alone  found  a  resting-place  in  his  pure  mind,  is  a  mantle  broad  enough 
to  cover  all,  and  more  than  all,  his  errors  and  his  faults. 

Penetrated  with  the  devout  idea  that  he  was  under  the  charge  and  direction  of 
"  Him  in  whom  he  believed,"  he  called  the  spot  he  selected  for  his  resting-place 
Providence,  never  doubting  he  had  been  led  thither  by  an  invisible  Hand.  Here  he 
built  up  his  church  in  the  free  spirit  of  toleration,  and  to  it  flocked  from  every  quarter 
of  the  Colonies  the  persecuted  of  all  shades  of  opinion.  And  here  all  found  a  Chris- 
tian welcome.  Jews,  Turks,  Papists,  and  Protestants  of  every  belief  were  allowed 
not  only  to  cherish  but  to  promulgate  their  faith  and  practise  their  worship,  so  long 
as  they  interfered  with  no  other  man's  freedom,  and  violated  none  of  the  civil 
obligations. 

In  1656,  when  the  other  colonies  of  New  England  united  in  measures  for  the  pre- 
vention of  the  further  spread  of  Quakerism,  the  colony  of  Rhode  Island  was  solicited 
to  join  the  wicked  confederacy.  Their  noble  answer — which  showed  how  truly  the 
leaven  of  its  tolerant  founder  had  wrought  into  the  whole  lump  of  the  body-politic — 
deserves  to  be  written  in  characters  of  living  light  in  the  firmament :  "  WE  SHALL 

STRICTLY  ADHERE  TO  THE  FOUNDATION  PRINCIPLES  ON  WHICH  THIS  COLONY  WAS  FIRST  SET- 
TLED :  TO  WIT,  THAT  EVERY  MAN  WHO  SUBMITS  PEACEABLY  TO  THE  CIVIL  AUTHORITY,  MAY 
PEACEABLY  WORSHIP  GOD  ACCORDING  TO  THE  DICTATES  OF  HIS  CONSCIENCE  WITHOUT  MO- 


ROGER   WILLIAMS. 

Little  is  known  of  the  early  life  of  Williams,  save  that  he  was  a  remarkably  stu- 
dious and  religious  lad.  He  used  to  take  notes  of  the  discourses  to  which  he  listened 
at  an  early  age.  Sir  Edward  Coke,  the  eminent  lawyer,  detected  him  in  this,  one 
Sunday,  and  sent  for  him  to  his  pew.  '  After  much  persuasion,  he  overcame  the  nat- 
ural timidity  of  the  youth  and  prevailed  upon  him  to  let  him  look  on  his  notes.  Sir 
Edward  was  so  struck  with  their  correctness,  and  the  judgment  manifested  in  the 
selection  of  passages  in  the  discourse,  that  he  took  the  boy  into  his  care  and  office, 
where  he  prepared  himself  to  be  a  lawyer.  But  his  religious  turn  of  mind  led  him  to 
change  his  views,  and  he  afterwards  turned  his  whole  mind  and  soul  to  the  study  of 
divinity.  He  became  eminent  both  for  his  scholarship  and  piety,  and  soon  after  com- 
mencing his  ministry  joined  the  Puritans,  and  emigrated  to  this  country  in  1631. 

His  brilliant  talents  and  solid  learning  soon  attracted  the  attention  of  the  churches. 
He  was  invited  by  the  church  at  Salem  to  become  assistant  to  Mr.  Shelton,  but  the 
civil  authorities  not  approving,  he  accepted  a  call  from  the  Plymouth  church,  from 
whence,  after  two  or  three  years'  residence,  he  removed  to  Salem ;  from  which  place, 
as  we  have  seen,  he  was  banished  on  account  of  heresy. 

His  influence  with  the  Indians  was  unbounded,  and  it  was  owing  solely  to  his  in- 
tervention that  the  Narragansetts  were  prevented  from  leaguing  with  the  Pequots  in 
"  the  terrible  Pequot  War,"  and  brought,  instead,  into  alliance,  defensive  and  offensive, 
with  the  English.  This  alliance  doubtless  proved  the  salvation  of  the  colonies  in 
New  England. 

Roger  Williams  lived  to  see  his  principles  become  a  fact,  and  his  fond  dreams  a 
reality,  and  went  to  his  grave  at  the  great  age  of  eighty,  respected  and  loved  by  mul- 
titudes both  of  English  and  Indians,  and  leaving  a  name  to  be  cherished  and  vener- 
ated by  all  lovers  of  religious  freedom  in  all  coming  ages  of  the  world. 


JOHN  WINTHROP, 

JOHN"  WINTHROP,  LL.D.,F.E.S.,  a  distinguished  philosopher  and  astronomer, 
was  graduated  at  Harvard  College,  in  1732.  In  1738  he  succeeded  Mr.  Green- 
wood as  Hollis  professor  of  mathematics  and  natural  philosophy,  and  was  more 
eminent  for  his  scholarship  than  any  other  man  in  New  England.  In  mathematical 
science  he  was  considered  as  the  first  during  the  forty  years  he  continued  the  profes- 
sor at  Cambridge  University.  In  the  year  1740  he  made  observations  upon  the 
transit  of  Mercury,  which  were  printed  in  the  transactions  of  the  Royal  Society. 

In  the  year  1761  he  sailed  to  St.  Johns,  in  Newfoundland  (as  it  was  the  most 
western  part  of  the  earth),  to  observe  the  transit  of  Yenus  over  the  sun's  disk,  as  it 
was  an  object  with  the  literati  to  have  observations  made  in  that  place.  The  sixth  of 
June  was  a  fine  day  to  observe  the  transit  of  the  planet,  and  he  gained  high  reputa- 
tion when  these  observations  were  published.  In  1769  he  had  another  opportunity 
of  observing  the  transit  of  Venus  at  Cambridge.  As  it  was  the  last  opportunity  that 
generation  could  be  favored  with,  he  was  desirous  to  arrest  the  attention  of  the  peo- 
ple. He  read  two  lectures  upon  the  subject  in  the  college  chapel,  which  he  after- 
wards published,  with  this  motto  upon  the  title-page :  "  Agite  mortales  !  et  oculos  in 
spectaculum  vertite,  quod  hucusce  spectaverunt  perpaucissimi ;  spectaturi  iterum 
Bunt  nulli." 

He  received  literary  honors  from  other  countries  besides  his  own.  The  Eoyal  So- 
ciety of  London  elected  him  a  member,  and  the  University  of  Edinburgh  gave  him  a 
diploma  of  LL.  D. 

In  1767  he  wrote  Cogitata  de  Cometis,  which  he  dedicated  to  the  Royal  Society. 
This  was  reprinted  in  London  the  next  year.  The  active  services  of  Dr.  Winthrop 
were  not  confined  to  his  duties  of  professorship  at  Cambridge.  He  was  a  brilliant 
star  in  our  political  hemisphere.  The  family  of  the  "Winthrops  had  always  been  dis- 
tinguished for  their  love  of  freedom  and  the  charter  rights  of  the  colonies.  When 
Great  Britain  made  encroachment  upon  these,  by  oppressive  acts  of  parliament,  after 
the  peace  of  Paris  in  1763,  he  stepped  forth  among  those  who  boldly  opposed  the 
measures  of  the  crown.  After  having  been  a  professor  for  more  than  forty  years,  he 
died  at  Cambridge,  May  3,  1779,  in  the  sixty-fifth  year  of  his  age.  Dr.  Winthrop 
was  an  excellent  classical  scholar,  and  also  a  biblical  critic.  The  learned  Dr.  Chaun- 
cey  always  spoke  of  him  as  one  of  the  greatest  theologians  he  ever  met  with.  In  the 
variety  and  extent  of  his  knowledge  he  has  seldom  been  equalled.  He  was  critically 
acquainted  with  several  of  the  modern  languages  of  Europe.  He  had  deeply  studied 
the  policies  of  different  ages  ;  he  had  read  the  principal  Fathers ;  and  he  was  thor- 
oughly acquainted  with  the  controversy  between  Christians  and  Deists.  His  firm 
faith  in  the  Christian  religion  was  founded  upon  an  accurate  examination  of  the  evi- 
dences of  its  truths,  and  the  virtues  of  his  life  added  a  lustre  to  his  intellectual  power 
and  scientific  attainments. 


ACCESSION  No. 


THE  ARCHIBALD  CHURCH  LIBRARY 


NORTHWESTERN   UNIVERSITY   MEDICAL  SCHOOL 

CHICAGO        -:-         ILLINOIS 


HMB 

I 


I 


I 


I 
I 


I 


